{{Short description|Species of bird}} {{Speciesbox | name = Bat hawk | image = MacheiramphusAlcinus.jpg | image_caption = Bat hawk at Cape Vidal, northern Natal, South Africa | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2016 |title=''Macheiramphus alcinus'' |volume=2016 |article-number=e.T22695021A93485278 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22695021A93485278.en |access-date=19 November 2021}}</ref> | genus = Macheiramphus | parent_authority = Bonaparte, 1850 | species = alcinus | authority = Bonaparte, 1850 |synonyms=''Machaerhamphus alcinus'' {{Taxobox_authority|author=Westerman|date=1851}} | subdivision_ranks = Subspecies | subdivision = {{leftlegend|#FF0000|''M. a. anderssoni''|outline=gray}} {{leftlegend|#800080|''M. a. alcinus''|outline=gray}} {{leftlegend|#010101|''M. a. papuanus''|outline=gray}} | range_map = Distribution Macheiramphus alcinus subspecies.PNG | range_map_alt = Ranges of ''Macheiramphus alcinus'' subspecies }}
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.<ref>Mikula, P., Morelli, F., Lučan, R. K., Jones, D. N., & Tryjanowski, P. (2016). Bats as prey of diurnal birds: a global perspective. Mammal Review.</ref> It requires open space in which to hunt, but will live anywhere from dense rainforest to semi-arid veld.
==Description== thumb|Illustration of ''M. alcinus'' The bat hawk is a slender, medium-sized bird of prey, 45 cm long and weighing 600–650 grams.<ref name=":02">{{Citation |title=Handbook of the birds of the world. 2: New world vultures to guineafowl / Josep del Hoyo ... [ed.]. Richard Bierregaard|date=1994|editor-last=Hoyo|editor-first=Josep del|place=Barcelona|publisher=Lynx Ed|isbn=978-84-87334-15-3|editor2-last=Bierregaard|editor2-first=Richard}}</ref>
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.
==Behaviour==
===Hunting=== 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) to capture prey in a swarm.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Brighton|first1=Caroline H|last2=Zusi|first2=Lillias|last3=McGowan|first3=Kathryn A|last4=Kinniry|first4=Morgan|last5=Kloepper|first5=Laura N|last6=Taylor|first6=Graham K|date=2021-06-04|editor-last=Quinn|editor-first=John|title=Aerial attack strategies of hawks hunting bats, and the adaptive benefits of swarming|url=https://academic.oup.com/beheco/article/32/3/464/6206555|journal=Behavioral Ecology|language=en|volume=32|issue=3|pages=464–476|doi=10.1093/beheco/araa145|issn=1045-2249|pmc=8177810|pmid=34104109}}</ref> Bat hawks also show very rapid ingestion rates, taking on average 6 seconds for the prey to reach the stomach after capture.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last1=Black|first1=H. L.|last2=Howard|first2=G.|last3=Stjernstedt|first3=R.|date=1979|title=Observations on the Feeding Behavior of the Bat Hawk (Macheiromphus alcinus)|jstor=2388165|journal=Biotropica|volume=11|issue=1|pages=18–21|doi=10.2307/2388165|bibcode=1979Biotr..11...18B }}</ref>
The bat hawk is crepuscular and hunts at dusk. They can be observed perching near a cave/bat dwelling prior to dusk emergence.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Black|first1=H. L.|last2=Howard|first2=G.|last3=Stjernstedt|first3=R.|date=1979|title=Observations on the Feeding Behavior of the Bat Hawk (Macheiromphus alcinus)|journal=Biotropica|volume=11|issue=1|pages=18–21|doi=10.2307/2388165|jstor=2388165|bibcode=1979Biotr..11...18B |issn=0006-3606}}</ref> They feed on the wing and swallow their prey whole. This feeding habit has resulted in the evolution of an unusually large gape, the largest of any raptor relative to body size, and is more similar to that of insectivorous birds which feed on the wing such as swallows, swifts and nightjars.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Jones|first1=Landon R.|last2=Black|first2=Hal L.|last3=White|first3=Clayton M.|date=2012|title=Evidence for Convergent Evolution in Gape Morphology of the Bat Hawk (Macheiramphus alcinus) with Swifts, Swallows, and Goatsuckers|jstor=41496010|journal=Biotropica|volume=44|issue=3|pages=386–393|doi=10.1111/j.1744-7429.2011.00812.x|bibcode=2012Biotr..44..386J |s2cid=83874450 }}</ref> The evolution of a large gape is likely due to the selective pressure of a limited feeding time. Since bats only emerge at dusk in swarms, a temporal window of ±30 minutes is allotted for bat hawks to hunt. A large gape allows the hawks to feed extremely rapidly, often with multiple captures per hunting bout.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Jones|first1=Landon R.|last2=Black|first2=Hal L.|last3=White|first3=Clayton M.|date=May 2012|title=Evidence for Convergent Evolution in Gape Morphology of the Bat Hawk (Macheiramphus alcinus) with Swifts, Swallows, and Goatsuckers: Bat Hawk Gape|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1744-7429.2011.00812.x|journal=Biotropica|language=en|volume=44|issue=3|pages=386–393|doi=10.1111/j.1744-7429.2011.00812.x|bibcode=2012Biotr..44..386J |s2cid=83874450 |url-access=subscription}}</ref>
The crepuscular habits, large gape and in-flight manoeuvrability makes the bat hawk well adapted for its choice of prey hunting. This ecological niche is highly exploited by bat hawks, making their competition with other diurnal raptors minimal.<ref name=":0" />
===Breeding=== Courtship involves many aerial displays and stunts. The nest is built with sticks gathered in flight, and is about 90 cm across and 30 cm deep.<ref>The Hawk Conservancy Trust (1996-2007). ''Bat Hawk''. Retrieved April 16, 2007, from http://www.hawk-conservancy.org/priors/bathawk.shtml</ref> The female is solely responsible for incubating her clutch. The male often shares food with her. About a month after incubation begins, the eggs hatch, and both parents help to feed their young. 30–45 days after hatching, the young fledge. They leave the nest soon after. Bat hawks synchronize their breeding periods with those of bats, capitalizing on slow, expectant females to reach breeding readiness, while young hawks benefit from young bats that have just begun to fly.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Hartley|first1=R|last2=Hustler|first2=K|title=A less-than-annual breeding cycle in a pair of African Bat Hawks ''Machaeramphus alcinus'' |journal=Ibis |volume=135 |issue=4 |pages=456–458 |date=1993|doi=10.1111/j.1474-919X.1993.tb02119.x}}</ref>
Bat hawks typically breed annually.
==Conservation== Due to its large range and relatively stable population, the bat hawk is of least concern.<ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021" /> However, localized populations are under threat, and it is listed as Endangered in South Africa.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.birdlife.org.za/conservation/important-bird-areas/iba-projects-other/blsa-threatened-species-birdlasser-cause |title=Welcome to BirdLife South Africa - BLSA Threatened Species Birdlasser Cause |website=www.birdlife.org.za |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160428150144/http://www.birdlife.org.za/conservation/important-bird-areas/iba-projects-other/blsa-threatened-species-birdlasser-cause |archive-date=2016-04-28}}</ref>
==Etymology== The genus name is from Greek: {{lang|grc|μαχαιρα}} ''{{Transliteration|Grek|makhaira}}'' meaning knife; and {{lang|grc|ῥαμφος}} ''{{Transliteration|Grek|rhamphos}}'', bill. The specific epithet ''alcinus'' means like an auk, from Linnaeus' genus ''Alca'', which is also a reference to the bat hawk's thin bill.<ref name=Jobling />
==Taxonomy== The spelling of the genus name is problematic. Charles Lucien Bonaparte described the bat hawk in 1850, naming it ''Macheiramphus alcinus''.<ref name=Bonaparte1850 />{{rp|pages=[https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/2340360 482–483]}} Westerman described it in 1851 under the name ''Machaerhamphus alcinus'', and this form was used for over a hundred years because it was believed to have been published in 1848. In 1960 Deignan pointed out that Bonaparte has priority, but in 1979 Amadon claimed that ''Macheiramphus alcinus'' is an abandoned name. Brooke and Clancey note that the preservation of a junior synonym requires a special ruling from the ICZN that Amadon didn't obtain; whilst Dickinson argues that Deignan's resurrection of the name in 1960 should stand because it predates the first edition of the Code in 1961.<ref name=BC1981 /><ref name=Zoonomen />
==References== {{Reflist|refs= <ref name=Bonaparte1850>{{cite journal |last1=Bonaparte |first1=Charles-Lucien |author-link1=Charles Lucien Bonaparte |title=Revue générale de la classe des oiseaux |language=fr |journal=Revue et Magasin de Zoologie Pure et Appliquée |date=1850 |volume=2 |issue=2 |pages=474–492 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/2340352 |access-date=31 October 2014}}</ref> <ref name=Jobling>{{cite web|last1=Jobling |first1=James A. |date=2014|title=Key to Scientific Names in Ornithology |url=http://www.hbw.com/dictionary/introduction-key-scientific-names-ornithology-james-jobling |website=Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive|publisher=Lynx Edicions |access-date=31 October 2014}} See entries ''[http://www.hbw.com/dictionary/definition/macheiramphus Machieramphus]'' and ''[http://www.hbw.com/dictionary/definition/alcinus alcinus]''.</ref> <ref name=BC1981>{{cite journal|last1=Brooke|first1=R. K.|last2=Clancey|first2=P. A.|title=The Authorship of the Generic and Specific Names of the Bat Hawk|journal=Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club|date=1981|volume=101|issue=4|pages=371–372|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/40825136#page/153/mode/1up|access-date=21 July 2017}}</ref> <ref name=Zoonomen>{{cite web|last1=Peterson|first1=Alan P.|title=Zoonomen Nomenclatural data|url=http://www.zoonomen.net|access-date=28 October 2014|date=2013}}</ref> }}
==External links== {{Commons category|Macheiramphus alcinus}} {{Wikispecies|Macheiramphus alcinus}} * Bat Hawk - [http://sabap2.adu.org.za/docs/sabap1/129.pdf Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds]
{{Accipitrimorphae|A.|state=collapsed}} {{Taxonbar|from=Q48431}}
bat hawk Category:Birds of Malesia Category:Birds of Papua New Guinea Category:Birds of Sub-Saharan Africa bat hawk bat hawk