Bat Hawk

Bat Hawk
This species is defined as a Review Species . Please submit your records of this species via our record submission page .

Scientific Name: Macheiramphus alcinus

Malay Name: Helang Malam

Chinese Name: 食蝠鸢

Range: Found from tropical Africa and discontinuously to the Thai-Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Borneo, Sulawesi and New Guinea

Taxonomy: Polytypic. Subspecies are: anderssoni, alcinus, papuanus.

Local Subspecies: alcinus

Size: 46 cm

Identification: A falcon-like bird with yellowish eyes, overall blackish-brown plumage with contrasting whitish throat and center of upper breast and pale legs.

Habitat: Open areas in or near forest and vicinity of bat caves.

Behaviour/Ecology: Crepuscular. Diet comprises mainly bats.

Local Status: Very rare visitor

Conservation Status: Least Concern (BirdLife International 2016)

Featured reports: Dec 2022, Oct 2024

Past records in our database:

Showing only accepted records. Note that records currently under review are also not displayed, and the list may not be a full list of records of this species in Singapore. For more details, check the database here.

Bat Hawk at Mount Faber. Photo credit: Adrian Silas Tay
Bat Hawk at Mount Faber. Photo credit: Adrian Silas Tay
Bat Hawk at Macritchie. Photo Credit: Con Foley
Bat Hawk at Macritchie. Photo Credit: Tan Gim Cheong
Bat Hawk at Neo Tiew. Photo credit: Hou Boon
External Links:

Conservation Status: IUCN Red List Page

Sound Recordings: xeno-canto Link

Wikipedia Entry: Wikipedia Link

eBird Species page: eBird (Bat Hawk)

References:

BirdLife International. (2016). Macheiramphus alcinus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22695021A93485278.en. Accessed on 1 January 2023

Lim, K. S. (2009). The Avifauna of Singapore. Nature Society (Singapore).

Robson, C. (2014). Field guide to the birds of South-East Asia (Second Edition). Bloomsbury Publishing, London.

RECOMMENDED CITATION

Bird Society of Singapore. (n.d.). Bat Hawk. Retrieved on June 6, 2025 from https://singaporebirds.com/species/bat-hawk.

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