Falcon Mid-Air Attack | National Geographic

look bad Falken soars over the maya ruin
of tikal guatemala of course this
magnificent raptor isn’t just flying
it’s almost always hunting scanning
landscape for food it’s not called a bat
Falken because it belongs to the bat
family it’s called a bat falcon for its
choice of prey this bat falcon family is
nestled in a crevice in a wall in the
Maya temple that was abandoned over a
thousand years ago the single chick
surveys the landscape as its mom
prepares to hunt batch vulcan females
are about eight to ten inches long with
a wingspan over twice their body length
21 to 22 inches nature has crafted them
into lethal predators the bat falcon
nails its prey in midair and brings it
back to the nest
once back home the hunter administers
the coup de Gras
so then what they’re gonna eat doesn’t
attack them
a bat is a rare delicacy for these
hawkins their diet consists mostly of
small birds and large insects like
dragonflies grasshoppers and moths
but this day seems to bring an unusual
bounty of bats a second bat appears and
the mother falcon gives chase the bat
manages to elude the falcon and takes
refuge in a bromeliad in the crown of a
nearby tree but it seems the bat has
underestimated the hunting skills of the
Falcon the Falcon glides and locks into
its target
after a bountiful hunt now is the time
to rest to feed her ravenous young to
feed herself and to prepare for more
hunting