A David Mead original from Raptors of the World, published by Christopher Helm as a Handbook (2001) and a Field Guide (2005).

PLATE 8 in both books

Scissor-tailed Kite Chelictinia riocourii
Africa

African Cuckoo-hawk Aviceda cuculoides
Africa

Madagascar Cuckoo-hawk Aviceda madagascariensis
Madagascar

Bat-hawk Macheiramphus alcinus
Africa, SE Asia, New Guinea

ABOUT THE BIRDS The agile Scissor-tailed Kite hunts locusts and other insects in the Sahel, the belt of semi-desert and dry savannah along the southern fringe of the Sahara.

Cuckoo-hawks are so named because the African species has a plumage pattern resembling that of the Common Cuckoo Cuculus canorus. Cuckoo-hawks are related to bazas (plate 9).

The Bat-hawk hunts at dusk, catching and eating bats in flight as they emerge from their roosts. The bird’s wide mouth enables it to swallow its prey whole.

Medium Gouache on tinted acrylic gesso
Image size 8in x 12in (20cm x 30cm)