- Falco rufigularis
Identification
Female – Subspecies F. r. petoensis
Photo © by Joseph Morlan
Crooked Tree Village, Belize District, Belize
26 January 2011
Photo © by Joseph Morlan
Crooked Tree Village, Belize District, Belize
26 January 2011
Female - 30.5 cm, male - 23 cm long male
Adult
- Black back, head and tail
- Creamy-white throat, upper breast and neck sides
- Black lower breast and belly finely barred white
- Orange thighs and lower belly
Young birds are similar but with a buffy throat.
Similar species
Distribution
Central and South America: occurs in Mexico from southern Sonora and Tamaulipas southwards and through Central America to Panama; in South America breeds from Colombia, Venezuela, Trinidad and the Guianas south to west Ecuador and northern Argentina.
Resident.
Taxonomy
Subspecies
There are 3 subspecies[1]:
- F. r. petoensis:
- F. r. rufigularis:
- Lowlands of northern South America to southern Brazil and northern Argentina; winters in Trinidad
- F. r. ophryophanes:
Subspecies petrophilus is not recognised by all authorities[2]
Habitat
Open woodland, forest edge and plantations, often near water.
Behaviour
Diet
It feeds not only on bats but also on small birds and large insects which it catches on the wing.
Breeding
It nests in an unlined tree hole and 2-3 brown eggs are laid.
References
- Clements, JF. 2011. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to August 2011. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/downloadable-clements-checklist
- Avibase
- Wikipedia
- BF Member observations
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Bat Falcon. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 3 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Bat_Falcon
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.
