Macheiramphus alcinus
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The bat hawk (Macheiramphus alcinus) is a raptor found in sub-Saharan Africa and south Asia to New Guinea. It is named for its diet, which consists mainly of bats. It requires open space in which to hunt, but will live anywhere from dense rainforest to semi-arid veld.
The bat hawk is a slender, medium-sized bird of prey, 45 cm long and weighing 600–650 grams. It has long wings and a falcon-like silhouette while in flight. Adults are dark brown or black, with a white patch on the throat and chest, and have a white streak above and below each eye. Juveniles are mottled brown and have more white plumage than adults.
Bats are the usual prey of the bat hawk, although they may eat small birds, such as swallows, swifts, and nightjars, or even insects. They hunt by chasing their prey at high speeds in flight. 49.3% of their hunts are successful. Bats are captured by the use of small talons, and swallowed whole immediately in flight. Hunting methods may be similar to that of Swainson's Hawk, which makes use of different approach types (Up-stream, Down-stream and cross-stream) and grab directions/body positions (pitch down, pitch up and roll manoeuvres... Wikipedia →
Call0:13
Malaysia · 2008
© Hans Matheve · XC520243 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
Call0:20
Malaysia · 2015
© Mike Nelson · XC244201 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Recording0:32
Malaysia · 2025
© Hobart WQH · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 2 | Way Kambas National Park | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 3 | South Luangwa National Park | 🇿🇲 Zambia | |
| 4 | Khao Sok National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 5 | Lower Zambezi National Park | 🇿🇲 Zambia | |
| 6 | Mana Pools National Park | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | |
| 7 | Danum Valley Conservation Area | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 8 | Taman Negara National Park | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 9 | Lake Mburo National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 10 | Kafue National Park | 🇿🇲 Zambia | |
| 11 | Lake Nakuru National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 12 | Kerinci Seblat National Park | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 13 | Murchison Falls National Park | 🇺🇬 Uganda | |
| 14 | Tarangire National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 15 | Sepilok | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 16 | Chobe National Park | 🇧🇼 Botswana | |
| 17 | Moremi Game Reserve | 🇧🇼 Botswana | |
| 18 | Masai Mara National Reserve | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 19 | Kruger National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Bat Hawk sighting in South Luangwa National Park on a given day, based on 20 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 184th most-seen of the 257 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August and October
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Bat Hawk in South Luangwa National Park on a given day, against under 5% in September and November–July, the lowest months. Those are among South Luangwa National Park's driest months, with almost no rain against 310 mm in January.
Between 4 and 7 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Bat Hawk sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
3rd of 19
Of the 19 parks where we can rate Bat Hawk sightings, South Luangwa National Park ranks 3rd at under 5%. The best odds are in Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary (Malaysia, about 10%) and Way Kambas National Park (Indonesia, about 10%).
Same family: Accipitridae
The closest relatives of the Bat Hawk that you can see in South Luangwa National Park (family Accipitridae, Hawks, Eagles, and Kites) are African Fish-Eagle (about 50%), Bateleur (about 30%) and White-backed Vulture (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Bat Hawk is recorded against all the birds logged in South Luangwa National Park (20 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.
