image credit: junis_sp
image credit: BORNEO NATURE PIX
image credit: photographersdirect.com
image credit: arkive.org
image credit: orientalbirdimages.orgHabitat: sub-Saharan Africa and south Asia to New Guinea
Status: Least Concern
Status: Least Concern
So in honor of Warner Brothers releasing the new Batman movie (The Dark Knight Rises) teaser photos, I’ve decided today would be a good day to post on the Bat Hawk (Machaerhamphus alcinus). Though it does resemble a large bat (at least to me) the creature actually gets its name from its main diet staple: bats!
When out on the hunt, the Bat Hawk will circle over its chosen area, usually at great speed, looking above, below, and on both sides of it (unlike most birds of prey, which only look downwards). It catches mostly bats, with some swallows and swiftlets flown in for good measure. Prey is caught in flight with the feet and then the bird swallows them whole in the air!!
That piercing yellow eye is really starting to creep me out now…
