Hunting the unexpected: harris’s hawks (Parabuteo unicinctus) preying on bats in a neotropical megacity

Abstract

Many wildlife species have modified their behaviors in order to thrive within cities. Since the 1980’s, Harris’s Hawk has become a regular resident species in Mexico City, Mexico. Here, we report on what may be an urban adaptation – two Harris’s Hawks hunting bats in urban, southern Mexico City. This represents the first formal record of Harris’s Hawk preying on bats, either within anthropogenic or natural ecosystems. Cities might facilitate access to novel food resources for particular sorts of species, including urban adaptable ones such as the Harris’s Hawk.