Bird of the Week – Beautiful Bateleur

THE beautiful bateleur spends much of its days in direct or circling flight at a speed of about 60 to 80 kms per hour.

The flight of this raptor is a glide action, rocking its wings up and down.

The bird seldom flaps its wings and the name is derived from the French word for trapeze artist.

The bateleur attains adult plumage after seven to eight years. From below, the male has a thick, black trailing edge to its white under wing. The female has a thin, black trailing edge.

Its voice is usually silent with a barking ‘kow-ow’ or chattering ‘cluck cluck’ like a hen, hence its Dutch name berghaan (meaning mountain hen).

The bateleur is absent from its former range of Eastern Cape and most of Natal but is found north of the Tugela up the East African coast to Arabia.

It likes woodland and savanna, and is found on open plains including the Kalahari thornveld. It occurs solitary or in flocks of up to 40 birds.

The raptor hunts live prey by stooping or parachuting with its wings held up and legs extended.

It roosts in trees and by day, may sunbathe with its wings spread. It feeds on birds, mammals, reptiles, fish and insects.

The nest is a platform of sticks about 60cm in size, with a leaf-lined bowl about 25cm in diameter at a height of eight to 16m above ground.

The female lays one egg, with incubation lasting 52 to 59 days. Nestlings last for 93 to 115 days and are fed by both parents. The young remain dependant on parents for 90 to 120 days after their first flight.

The bateleur’s Zulu name is iNgqungqulu.