Do Hawks Eat Bats

Owing to their intimidating reputation, bats seem to be the last thing on anyone’s menu, Hawks are opportunistic predators that devour all sorts of animals, ranging from frogs and l to songbirds, gophers, and even foxes.

Which means..

Still, the idea sounds too dubious to be true.

So, you may still be wondering:

Do Hawks Attack Bats?

They most certainly do.

Now, hawks have an extensive list of animals on their menu.

But, like all other predators, hawks also prefer a meek and readily available game. 

Since bats are flying mammals with sharp teeth and impressive reflexes, they are far more challenging of a prey than an average mole or rabbit. 

The majority of hawks treat bats as delicacies rather than primary meals. 

In other words, most hawks don’t actively look for bats.

Instead, they eat a bat if they just happen to find one.

Therefore, 

Bats are generally targeted by migrating hawks that accidentally come across a bat roost.

Such roving hawks treat bats only as one would to any exotic restaurant, eat  what they can but leave nonetheless.

That said, not all hawks can manage to hunt a bat.

Now, you may be wondering:

Why Is Bat Hunting a Difficult Task For Hawks?

Because:

1. Bats are the only mammals capable of true and stable flight, typically exceeding 130Km/hour. 
2. Most bat species can detect obstacles through echolocation, thereby making them far more vigilant than other flying creatures.
3. Bats have exceptionally sharp molars and may transmit unusual diseases. Some species can even cause neurotoxicity.
4. Bats live and forage in large colonies which hinders any predator from cutting through their tight formation and eating a single bat without getting hurt.
5. Bats appear larger and more threatening than their actual size because of their broad wingspans and horn-like appendages. 
6. Bats are nocturnal creatures that are active during the night. Therefore, it’s normally hard for diurnal raptors like hawks to find and hunt bats.

Despite all these difficulties, certain hawks species have specialized in hunting bats either through evolution or sheer practice. 

Now, you may be interested in asking:

How Do Hawks Kill Bats?

By being sneaky, patient, and swift enough to catch a bat on the wing.

So far, I have talked about how hard it is to catch a bat.

But to understand how a hawk manages to eat a bat, you must visualize the whole scenario to see the exact loopholes a predator exploits. 

Now, bats live in bleak caves or hollowed trees as colonies of millions of bats– the largest congregations of any mammals on this planet.

Their collective droppings and urine divert several threats from approaching them in their roost sites. 

Also, their crepuscular habits reduce their interaction with most diurnal raptors. 

However, several bat species eat insects and so, they prefer to leave their roosts a bit early before the dusk sets in. 

This allows Hawks a 30-minutes window to clearly see and aim for bats.

But caves have a narrow opening.

You see, bats come out in limited numbers and in tight formations then, these bats swirl upwards in vortex shape to gain both altitude and overwhelming numbers. 

Eventually, these bats have to depart causing them to have a few moments of chaos.

But this one moment of Mayhem is enough for a Hawk to go on a killing spree.

The bats on the sides of the formation become loners and stragglers therefore, hunting them becomes rather easy. 

Most hawks jump from sideways and flick their feet backward to grab a bat and eat it mid-air.

Some top guns can grab two bats at the same time, and others can eat more than one bat in a single flight.

However,

A hawk’s preferred bat species, its hunting frequency, and even killing style may vary with its habitat, agility as well as its size, species, and expertise. 

Simply put, different hawk species may hunt different kinds of bats with different maneuvers.

Perhaps, you are more interested in finding exactly which hawks are capable of killing and eating bats.

Or say,

Which Hawk Species Hunt Bats?

Bat Hawks are the only bat-eating hawk specialists that live off bats.

Regardless, the following hawks have been reported to eat and hunt bats.

Hawk Species	Details	Remarks
Bat Hawks (Macheiramphus alcinus)	These have the largest gape for any animal of relative size. Therefore, these can swallow a bat whole in less than 6 seconds. Their falcon-like build gives them the agility to maneuver through the bat swarms.	The only animal to eat bats as its staple diet. About 50% of all their attacks on bats are successful.
Swainson’s Hawks (Buteo swainsoni)	Fly above the bat swarms and dive vertically at 220km/hours, grabbing two bats in a single expedition. Their hunt may involve upstream, downstream, and cross-stream tactics as well as body posture readjustments amid flight.	Typically, these are observed to feed on free-tailed bats in Mexico.
Red-tailed Hawks (Buteo jamaicensis)	Experienced red-tailed hawks come from the sides and use a high-speed Stoop or rolling grab to catch a single bat at a time.	Generally hunt bats while migrating.
Cooper’s Hawks (Accipiter cooperii)	Hunt only stragglers that come across woodlands.	Mostly eat fruit-bats.
Ferruginous Hawk (Buteo regalis)	Dive bombs the bats, striking nape and eating the bat somewhere safe.	Mostly target Flying Foxes – one of the largest bat species.

Others like Goshawks, Sparrow hawks, and sharp-shinned hawks have also been observed devouring bats.

That said, hawks are not the only bat eaters. 

Which leads me to my next point 

What Eats Bats In The Wild?

It comes down to what can catch a bat rather than who wants to eat one.

Anyways, here is a list of wild animals reported at least once to have eaten a bat:

Bat Predators	Details	Typical Circumstances	Remarks
Birds	Owls especially Tawny Owls	Since both owls and bats are nocturnal creatures. Therefore,  both are highly likely to come in contact. Owls typically hunt fruit bats hanging from the trees.	Owls are the most common bat predator.
	Hawks especially Bat-Hawks, Swainson’s Hawks, and Red-tailed Hawks	While bat hawks are specialized bat hunters, nearly all expert hawks can capture and eat bats.	The most diverse group to eat bats.
	Falcons including Merlins, Kestrels, Peregrine falcons.	Falcon hunt songbirds during their flight. However, an overwhelming number of bats reduces their appeal as falcon prey.	The Bat Falcon exists but it is not as specialized as Bat hawks. Also, falcons typically hunt large bats like flying foxes.
	Others include Shrikes, Ospreys, Corvids, and Gulls.	Opportunistic hunts.	Typically target only the unlucky, wounded, and lonely bats.
Mammals	Weasels, Raccoons, Minks.	Hunt bats during the day by climbing onto their roosts.	May get swamped by bat colonies if they get caught in the act.
	Other Bats	Larger bats may eat smaller bats if the need ever arises.	Rarely observed.
Snakes	Typically, tree-dwelling constrictors.	Climb up the trees to eat several bats whole.	–
Fish	Generally, those fish that live in the water streams coming through bat caves.	These wait near the surface of the water and grab the bat whenever the opportunity comes.	–
Invertebrates	Giant Centipedes	Climb onto the ceiling of bat roosts, lower down their body to eat the bats upside down.	Typically eat small bats such as light brown bats that weigh only half an ounce.
	Spiders like Tarantulas, and Silk spiders from Genus Nephila.	Some spiders use their webs to distract bats before wrapping them up to eat.	–

Aside from wild animals, Humans from several cultures also eat bats as a delicacy. 

However, this may not be among the most brilliant of ideas.

Several bat species have neurotoxins and may result in unknown psychotic effects.

Besides, Corona’s closest relative – Sars-COV-2 is found in bats, leading to the very suspicion that bats were the origin of COVID-19.

It must be noted that we are still unsure where COVID came from or when it will end.

But we do know something else and extremely significant about the Bats.

Firstly, bats are absolutely essential for pollination and a healthy ecosystem.

Secondly, bats are dying at unprecedented rates for reasons we know and don’t know.

Obviously, like all other endangered species, humans are the main reason bats are dying.

The biggest killer of bats is not an animal but a fungus causing the white-nose syndrome.

Also, hawks that can even hunt bats may not necessarily hunt one. 

So, you may be wondering:

What Do Hawks Mostly Eat?

That depends on what is available and easy to kill.

Still, most hawks have been reported to eat the following:

1. Invertebrates including worms, grubs, grasshoppers.
2. Amphibians include frogs, toads, salamanders. 
3. Reptiles such as lizards, snakes, and turtles.
4. Birds such as songbirds, corvids, smaller raptors.
5. Mammals including moles, rats, rabbits.

Wrapping Up

Catching a bat is hard because they are flying mammals that possess remarkable agility.

Hawks are diurnal birds but bats are active at night. 

But hawks are clever so they have learned to wait outside the bat roosts for them to either come out at dusk or return at dawn.

These hawks eat bats mid-air. 

Some species like Bat-Hawks can even swallow bats whole.