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Behavior

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Perception Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic ; chemical

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Pacheco, M. 2001. "Falco rufigularis" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 27, 2013 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Falco_rufigularis.html
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Mark Pacheco, Fresno City College
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Carl Johansson, Fresno City College
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Conservation Status

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This species is not globally threatened. Falco rufigularis tolerates and can even benefit from patchy, small scale deforestation. The bat falcon has stopped breeding in areas of South America where the forest has significantly changed to agriculture. This type of behavior is likely to recur in other places throughout the range (del Hoyo et al. 1994).

US Federal List: no special status

CITES: no special status

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: least concern

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Pacheco, M. 2001. "Falco rufigularis" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 27, 2013 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Falco_rufigularis.html
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Mark Pacheco, Fresno City College
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Carl Johansson, Fresno City College
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Benefits

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none

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Pacheco, M. 2001. "Falco rufigularis" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 27, 2013 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Falco_rufigularis.html
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Mark Pacheco, Fresno City College
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Carl Johansson, Fresno City College
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Benefits

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none

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Pacheco, M. 2001. "Falco rufigularis" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 27, 2013 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Falco_rufigularis.html
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Mark Pacheco, Fresno City College
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Carl Johansson, Fresno City College
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Trophic Strategy

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The bat falcon appears to have a preference for consuming bats, although they do not make up the majority of its diet. Their diet consists mainly of small birds and large insects, which include dragonflies (Odonata), moths (Lepidoptera), large grasshoppers (Orthopera), Homoptera, and Hymenoptera. The diet of the bat falcon varies by seasons and is divided into summer and winter diets. This shift in diet is affected by the change in the most abundant and nutritious prey obtainable. The summer diet consists of mostly birds and during winter, mostly insects. The bat falcon hunts during periods of dusk to dawn and is considered nocturnal (Weidensaul 1996; Del Hoyo et al. 1994).

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Pacheco, M. 2001. "Falco rufigularis" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 27, 2013 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Falco_rufigularis.html
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Mark Pacheco, Fresno City College
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Carl Johansson, Fresno City College
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Distribution

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The bat falcon, Falco rufigularis, is found in Mexico, Central and South America. It ranges from eastern Colombia east to the Guianas and Trinidad, and south to southern Brazil and northern Argentina (Weidensaul 1996; Del Hoyo et al. 1994).

Biogeographic Regions: neotropical (Native )

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Pacheco, M. 2001. "Falco rufigularis" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 27, 2013 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Falco_rufigularis.html
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Mark Pacheco, Fresno City College
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Carl Johansson, Fresno City College
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Habitat

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Bat falcons inhabit the tropical rain forests. Though they occur in unbroken forests, bat falcons seem to be able to adjust to human disturbance and are sometimes found to be more common in broken forest, which includes disturbed area, forest edge, road cuts, riverbanks, or cleared agricultural land with scattered trees.

Terrestrial Biomes: forest ; rainforest

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Pacheco, M. 2001. "Falco rufigularis" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 27, 2013 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Falco_rufigularis.html
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Mark Pacheco, Fresno City College
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Carl Johansson, Fresno City College
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Morphology

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Bat falcon adult males measure 24-29 cm (8-10 in.) in length with a wingspan of 56-58 cm (18-19 in.) females also range from 24-29 cm (8-10 in.) in length but have a larger wingspan, which ranges between 65 and 67 cm (21-22 in.) in length. The head and upper parts of their body are black, with grayish edging to contour the feathers from their upper back to tail coverts. Their throat and upper chest is white and tan extending to their neck. They have a long black tail with many fine white or gray stripes, and buff tip. The bat falcon has deep brown irises that may help camouflage while hunting at night. They also have small hooked beaks that allow the bat falcon to easily tear its meat. (Britannica 1999-00; Del Hoyo et al. 1994).

Range mass: 108 to 242 g.

Average mass: 148 g.

Other Physical Features: endothermic ; bilateral symmetry

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Pacheco, M. 2001. "Falco rufigularis" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 27, 2013 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Falco_rufigularis.html
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Mark Pacheco, Fresno City College
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Carl Johansson, Fresno City College
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Reproduction

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The bat falcon appears to have adapted to its habitat and nests in natural tree cavities or holes abandoned by parrots, in old trogon nests in termite colonies, or on cliffs, also on pre-Colombian ruins, and man made structures, such as sugar mill cranes. The bat falcon lays 2-4 eggs. Incubation periods last up to 4 to 7 weeks. Within 35-40 days of hatching it is fully feathered and able to eat whole prey on its own (Del Hoyo et al. 1994; Weidensaul 1996)

Key Reproductive Features: iteroparous ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual ; oviparous

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Pacheco, M. 2001. "Falco rufigularis" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 27, 2013 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Falco_rufigularis.html
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Mark Pacheco, Fresno City College
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Bat falcon

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F.r. petoensis
Orange Walk District, Belize

The bat falcon (Falco rufigularis) is a bird of prey in the family Falconidae, the falcons and caracaras.[2] It is found in Mexico, Central America, Trinidad, and every mainland South American country except Chile and Uruguay.[3][4]

Taxonomy and systematics

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.[5]

The bat falcon has these three subspecies:[2]

Some authors maintain that F. r. petoensis and F. r. ophryophanes are not subspecies but clinal variations in plumage. Others add a fourth subspecies F. r. petrophilus that is usually included in petoensis. Yet others assign only two subspecies, the nominate F. r. rufigularis and F. r. petrophilus.[6]

The bat falcon and the orange-breasted falcon (F. deiroleucus) share plumage and vocal characteristics and may be sister species.[7] Those two appear to be closely related to the aplomado falcon (F. femoralis).[8]

Description

The bat falcon is 23 to 30 cm (9.1 to 12 in) long. Males weigh 108 to 150 g (3.8 to 5.3 oz) and have a wingspan of 51 to 58 cm (20 to 23 in). Females weigh 177 to 242 g (6.2 to 8.5 oz) and have a wingspan of 65 to 67 cm (26 to 26 in). They have long wings and a longish tail with a square tip. The sexes have similar plumage. Adults have blue-black head and upperparts with grayish edges on the feathers from the upper back to the uppertail coverts. Their throat, upper breast, and sides of the neck are white to buff, sometimes with some cinnamon; the rest of their breast is black with fine white bars. Their belly, thighs, and undertail coverts are chestnut-rufous. Their tail is blackish with thin white or grayish bars and a white or buff tip. The underside of their wings is black with fine white bars. Their cere and bare skin around the eye are bright yellow, their iris black-brown, and their legs and feet orange-yellow. Juveniles are duller and browner than adults, with a buffier throat, a tawny tinge to the breast's barring, and black bars or spots on the undertail coverts. The three subspecies are similar, differing mainly in the tone of their plumage colors.[9][6]

Distribution and habitat

The subspecies of the bat falcon are found thus:[2][6]

  • F. r. petoensis, from northern Mexico south through all of Central America and west of the Andes of Colombia, Ecuador, and extreme northwestern Peru
  • F. r. rufigularis, Trindad and from eastern Colombia east through Venezuela and the Guianas and south through eastern Ecuador, eastern Peru, northern and eastern Bolivia, southern Brazil, and northern Argentina
  • F. r. ophryophanes, central Brazil and adjacent eastern Bolivia, Paraguay, and northeastern Argentina

A juvenile male of subspecies F. r. petoensis wandered to Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge in Alamo, Texas, in December 2021, for the only U.S. record of the species. It stayed in the area into early March.[10][11]

F. r. rufigularis is resident on Trinidad and has been recorded as a vagrant on Tobago.[12]

The bat falcon inhabits tropical forest. It favors unbroken mature forest but also occurs at the forest edge, in gallery forest, on wooded savanna, on cleared land with some remaining trees, and even in suburban and urban areas. In elevation it mostly ranges from sea level to about 1,700 m (5,600 ft) with a single record in Bolivia at about 3,250 m (10,700 ft).[9][6]

Behavior

Movement

The bat falcon is apparently mostly sedentary. However, the records in Texas, at high elevation in Bolivia, on Tobago, and on islands off the Yucatán Peninsula, Honduras, and Panama show a pattern of wandering.[6]

Feeding

Bat falcons perch conspicuously on high, open snags, from which they launch aerial attacks on their prey. They also hunt in sustained flight. Most hunting is around dawn or dusk and often continues well past sunset. Their diet is eclectic; they hunt bats, birds (such as swifts, swallows, hummingbirds, parakeets, tanagers and small water birds), small rodents, snakes, lizards, frogs, and large insects such as dragonflies, butterflies, moths, grasshoppers, true bugs, beetles, and hymenopterans. In most areas vertebrates contribute the most to biomass consumed, varying from 66% to 96% in various studies, and birds made up between 32% and 85% of the vertebrates. Invertebrates dominate numerically, and young are fed large numbers of them. Bats generally contribute less than 14% of prey biomass but some pairs seem to specialize in them.[9][6][13]

Breeding

The bat falcon's breeding season varies geographically. It spans from February to June in Mexico and northern Central America. It nests in February on Trinidad and probably between October and February in Argentina. Eggs have been noted in March in Venezuela, in April in Guyana, and in August near Manaus, Brazil. Most nests are in tree cavities, either natural or excavated by parrots, and between 10 and 50 m (35 and 165 ft) above the ground. Others have been noted in abandoned trogon nest cavities in arboreal termite nests, on cliffs, and on pre-Columbian ruins. The clutch size is two to four eggs. The incubation period is thought to be about 30 days, fledging occurs about 35 to 40 days after hatch, and young are dependent on the parents for at least 12 weeks after fledging. Both sexes incubate the eggs with the female doing at least 75% of the effort and in some areas all of it. Males provide food for incubating females and also most of the food for nestlings.[9][6]

Vocalization

The bat falcon is vocal "in breeding season, especially near nest, in contacts with other raptors, and even when attacking prey." Its main call is a "rapid shrill screaming" kee-kee-kee.. or kew-kew-kew..; the male's is higher pitched than the female's.[9] Other calls include "an even higher and thinner “tsee-tsee-tsee...”", a "low-intensity “chit” given in contact", and by the female, "a whining or high-pitched wailing call with a wavering quality".[9][6]

Status

The IUCN has assessed the bat falcon as being of Least Concern. It has an extremely large range and an estimated population of at least a half million mature individuals, though the latter is believed to be decreasing. No immediate threats have been identified.[1] It is "[w]idespread and generally not uncommon in appropriate habitat, it being one of the most widely distributed New World falcons." But it "no longer breeds in several areas where forest extensively transformed to agriculture" and "pesticides [have] unquestionably affected breeding success" in Mexico and Central America.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b BirdLife International (2020). "Bat Falcon Falco rufigularis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T22696457A140949181. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22696457A140949181.en. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
  2. ^ a b c Gill, F.; Donsker, D.; Rasmussen, P., eds. (January 2023). "Seriemas, falcons". IOC World Bird List. v 13.1. Retrieved February 11, 2023.
  3. ^ Check-list of North American Birds (7th ed.). Washington, D.C.: American Ornithologists' Union. 1998.
  4. ^ Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, A. Jaramillo, D. F. Lane, J. F. Pacheco, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. 30 January 2023. Species Lists of Birds for South American Countries and Territories. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCCountryLists.htm retrieved January 30, 2023
  5. ^ American Ornithologists' Union (1948). "Twenty-third supplement to the American Ornithologists' Union check-list of North American birds" (PDF). Auk. 65 (3): 438–443. doi:10.2307/4080493. JSTOR 4080493.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i Bierregaard, R. O. and G. M. Kirwan (2020). Bat Falcon (Falco rufigularis), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.batfal1.01 retrieved February 15, 2023
  7. ^ Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, A. Jaramillo, D. F. Lane, J. F. Pacheco, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. Version 30 January 2023. A classification of the bird species of South America. American Ornithological Society. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm retrieved January 30, 2023
  8. ^ Griffiths, Carole S. (1999). "Phylogeny of the Falconidae inferred from molecular and morphological data" (PDF). The Auk. 116 (1): 116–130. Retrieved February 15, 2023.
  9. ^ a b c d e f Ferguson-Lees, James; Christie, David A. (2001). Raptors of the World. New York: Houghton Mifflin. pp. 889–891. ISBN 0-618-12762-3.
  10. ^ "Bird of Prey Spotted in U.S. For the First Time, Drawing Crowds to Texas".
  11. ^ "Bat Falcon eBird species map". Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Retrieved February 15, 2023.
  12. ^ Kenefick, Martyn (September 22, 2020). "Species lists of birds for South American countries and territories: Trinidad and Tobago". South American Classification Committee of the American Ornithological Society. Retrieved February 15, 2023.
  13. ^ Pacheco, Mark. "ADW: Falco rufigularis: INFORMATION". Animaldiversity.org. Retrieved August 23, 2022.

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Bat falcon: Brief Summary

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F.r. petoensis
Orange Walk District, Belize

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.

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