Falco rufigularis
Silhouette: Shyamal · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~70% in a week >90%
The bat falcon (Falco rufigularis) is a bird of prey in the family Falconidae, the falcons and caracaras. It is found in Mexico, Central America, Trinidad, and every mainland South American country except Chile and Uruguay.
The bat falcon was long known as Falco albigularis; the names Falco fusco-coerulescens or Falco fuscocaerulescens, long used for the aplomado falcon (F. femoralis), are now believed to refer to the present species. The bat falcon has these three subspecies:
Others add a fourth subspecies F. r. petrophilus that is usually included in petoensis. The bat falcon is closely related to and looks like a small version of the orange-breasted falcon (F. deiroleucus), with which it has often been misidentified. They share plumage and vocal characteristics and are sister species. These two had been thought to be closely related to the aplomado... Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vitória | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 2 | San Pedro Sula | 🇭🇳 Honduras | |
| 3 | Manaus | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 4 | Campo Grande | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 5 | Caracas | 🇻🇪 Venezuela | |
| 6 | Rio de Janeiro | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 7 | Panama City | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 8 | Managua | 🇳🇮 Nicaragua | |
| 9 | Cali | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 10 | San José | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica |
Likely
About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Bat Falcon sighting in Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve on a given day, based on 101 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 22nd most-seen of the 240 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 70%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January, July and September
In those months about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Bat Falcon in Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve on a given day, against about 20% in March–June and October, the lowest months.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Bat Falcon sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 64 parks where we can rate Bat Falcon sightings, Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve has the highest daily chance: about 40%. Next come Calakmul Biosphere Reserve (Mexico, about 30%) and Chapada dos Guimarães National Park (Brazil, about 20%).
Same family: Falconidae
The closest relatives of the Bat Falcon that you can see in Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve (family Falconidae, Falcons and Caracaras) are Laughing Falcon (about 10%) and Collared Forest Falcon (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Bat Falcon is recorded against all the birds logged in Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve (101 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
