The bat falcon is a small bird of prey. And it is indigenous to Mexico and Central America. Somehow a lone bat falcon has made his way across the Rio Grande and is wintering in Texas.
The bat falcon was originally spotted at the Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge in Alamo, Texas which is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS).
According to USFWS, this is the first time that a bat falcon has ever been seen in the U.S.
Officials determined that the bird’s “buff-cinnamon throat and crest bars,” make it a juvenile or younger bird. And the “the thickness of the tarsus and beak” indicates that it’s a male.
These birds have distinctive orange, black and white plumage. And have dark back feathers on the top of the bird’s head that looks like a mask.
A bird of prey is a hunter. Bat falcons are mainly crepuscular, which means they are twilight hunters. Expect to see them hunting at dusk and dawn. And they communicate with each other both visually and vocally.
According to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Bat falcons are considered a species of Least Concern. It is estimated there are somewhere between 500,000 and five million of these birds in the wild.
Bat falcon photographs going viral
Photographer Peter Witt took some photos of the bird on February 9th.
