December1999 Letters 343

Okhotsk sea were crisscrossed by bear trails, and bears probably fed on prey remains which fell from nests. On a
numberofeaglenesttrees,bearclawmarkswerenotedabovetheheightbearscouldreachfromtheground.
OtherobservershaveseenevidenceofSteller’sSeaEaglenestdepredationbybears.In1985ontheYanaRiver,a
bear climbed a tree, made a hole in the middle of the nest and took one nestling (V. Pravosudov pers. comm,).
LobkovandZueva(1983,pages30-33mV.M.Galushin[Ed.],Ecologyofbirdsofprey,Proc.L'all-unionconference
onbirdsofprey,Moscow,Russia)andLobkovandNeufeldt(1986,inProc.Zool.Instit.,Acad.Sci.,Moscow,Russia)
notedbearclawmarksoneaglenesttreesalthoughtheydidnotstatehowhighabovegroundleveltheseoccurred
Theyestimatedthatterrestrialpredatorsmayhavetaken9-10%ofnestlings,althoughnospecificinstanceofbear
predationwas documented.
Blackbear(U.americanus)predationofeagletshasbeenobservedinnestsofBaldEagles(H.leucocephalus)inthe
YakutatregionofsoutheastAlaska(P.Schempfpers.comm.),BritishColumbia(McKelveyandSmith1979,Murrelet
60:106—107),andnorthernCalifornia(T.Billspers.comm.).BlackbearsarealsoknowntotakefledglingsofBald
Eaglesontheground(W.Bowermanpers.comm.).BaldEaglenestlingshavebeenkilledinnestsbywolverines{Gulo
gulo,Doyle1995,Can.Field-Nat.109:115-116)andraccoons(Procyonlotor,P.Nyepers.comm.),andlynx{Felislynx)
maydepredatethenestsofWhite-tailedSeaEagles{FI.albicilla)inNorway(T.Nygardpers.comm.).Bearshavebeen
knowntotrytoeatnestlingsofotherbirds(e.g.,Dixon 1927, Contfor 29:271-272), but studies of bear diet suggest
thatbirdsarerarelyeaten(e.g.,HolcroftandHerrero1991,Can.Field-Nat.105:335-345).
Althoughothercarnivoresoccurinthisarea,thelargesizeofoldernestlings(sometimes>7kg)probablydeters
somefromeatingnestlings.Steller’sSeaEaglesdosuffereggpredationbystoat{Mustelaerminea)andsable{Maries
zibellina) in Kamchatka (Lobkov and Zueva 1983, Lobkov and Neufeldt 1986). Galushin (1983, in N.V. Elisee [Ed ],
ReddatabookofRussianFederation,Rosselkhosizdat,Zhivotnie,Russiaand1984,mA.M.Borodin[Ed.],Reddata
book of the USSR, rare and endangered species of animals and plants, 2nd Ed., Vol. 1, animals, Lesnaya Promysh-
lennost,Moscow,Russia)mentionedmustelidpredationbutdidnotsayifitwasonnestlings.
ThenestsofHaliaeetuseaglesaregenerallyverylargeandofteninaccessible.Inmuchofitsrange,Steller’sSea
Eaglenestsareoftenonhigh,verticalcliffsorinthetopsoftall(sometimesdead)trees.Thenestsizeandplacement
oftencontributestoitsinaccessibilityandprobablyreducespredationbygroundpredators,likewolves(Canislupus)
We do not think that predation by bears or any other predator causes a large reduction in the number of Steller’s
SeaEaglefledglingsproducedeachyearintheMagadanregion.Preyavailabilityandhumandisturbanceareprobably
more important factors.
LobkovandZueva(1983)havesuggestedthattheactivitiesofresearchersmayattractpredatorstoSteller’sSea
Eagle nests. This link between the presence of humans and nest predation has been established in other species
(Grier and Fyfe 1987, pages 173-182 in B.A. Giron Pendleton, B.A. Millsap, K.W. Cline and D.M. Bird [Eds.], Raptor
management techniques manual, Natl. Wildl. Fed., Washington, DC U.S.A.). It is unlikely that the predation we
observedwaslinkedtohumanactivitynearthenestbecausethenestsitewasveryremoteandhadnotbeenvisited
byusbeforeintheseason.—MJ.McGrady,RaptorResearchCenter,BoiseStateUniversity,Boise,ID83725U.S.A.,
E. Potapov, P.O. Box 239, St. Petersburg 196105, Russia and I. Utekhina, Magadan State Reserve, Portovaya 9,
Magadan 685014, Russia.

JRaptorRes.33(4):343-344
©1999TheRaptorResearchFoundation,Inc.

Observation of a Double-toothed Kite {Harpagus bidentatus) Hawking Bats

TheDouble-toothedKite{Harpagusbidentatus)inhabitsneotropicalforestsfromsouthernMexicotosoutheastern
Brazil and eastern Bolivia (Brown and Amadon 1968, Eagles, hawks, and falcons of the world, McGraw-Hill, New
York, NYU.S.A.; del Hoyo, Elliot and Sargatal 1994, Handbook of the birds of the world, Vol. 2, New world vultures
toguineafowl.LynxEdicions,Barcelona,Spain).Itfeedsmainlyoninsectsandsmallreptiles,andsometimesfollows
monkeytroops,preyingoninsectsandothersmallorganismsstartledintomotionbyprimates(BoinskiandScott
1988,Eiotropica20:136-143;Egler1991,WilsonBull.103:510-512;Fontaine1980,Awft97:94-98;Greenlaw1967,Auk
84:596-597;Terborgh1983,FiveNewWorldprimates,PrincetonUniversityPress,Princeton,NJU.S.A.).InGuate-
mala,M.Schulze(pers.comm.)foundthatinsectscomprised61.6%,lizards39.1%,andbirds,bats,ratsandsnakes
together <1% of the total {N = 540) identified prey items of seven pairs of kites during the 1992-96 reproductive
344 Letters VoL. 33, No. 4

seasons(February-June).InCostaRica,BoinskiandTimm(1985,Am.JPrimatol.9:121-128)reportedanobservation
ofaDouble-toothedKitepreyingonatent-makingbat{Artibeussp.)flushedbyasquirrelmonkey{Saimirioerstedii).
Here,wedescribethehuntingandsuccessfulcaptureofbatsbyasolitaryadultDouble-toothedKite.
On29March1996,whilesearchingforOrange-breastedFalcons{Falcodeiroleucus)inaremoteareaofwestern
Peten,Guatemala,weobservedanadultDouble-toothedKitehuntingbatsemergingfromtheircliffcreviceroosts
near the bottom of a large limestone sinkhole. The sinkhole was about 100 m deep by 150 m in diameter, and its
bottom was filled with water. At 1728 H, we observed the kite fly from its perch on the cliff about 10 m above the
water,upwardashortdistanceatasteepangle,flipbackwarduntilupsidedown,fullyextenditslegs,seizeaflying
bat, return to its perch and begin feeding. After eating the bat, the kite made a similar upward flight next to the
cliff and perched at a vertical crevice, holding on to the cliff with one foot and bracing itself with its tail as it probed
with its other leg into the cleft for several seconds before returning to its perch without prey. At 1802 H, the kite
madeanotherupwardflightofabout10m,againflippedbackwardinamanneridenticaltothatobservedpreviously,
but was unsuccessful and returned to its perch. Though the kite still appeared interested, bobbing its head and
showingintentionmovementsattimesasiftofly,nosubsequenthuntingattemptswereobservedwhendarkness
terminated our
observations.
Toourknowledge,Double-toothedKiteshavenotbeenpreviouslyreportedtocapturehighlymobileaerialprey
onthewing.
Acknowledgments
We gratefully acknowledge Robert Berry and The Peregrine Fund for financial support for this research, Mark
SchulzeforsharingdataonbreedingbiologyanddietandDannyHarrisandLloydF.ffiffforcriticalcommentson
the manuscript. — ^Aaron J. Baker and David F. Whitacre, The Peregrine Fund, 566 W. Flying Hawk Lane, Boise, ID
83709;OscarA.Aguirre-BarreraandJuventinoLopezAvila,FondoPeregrino,ParqueNacionalTikal,Peten,Gua-
temala;andClaytonM.White,574WIDB,DepartmentofZoology,BrighamYoungUniversity,Provo,UT84602.

JRaptorRes.33(4):344
©1999TheRaptorResearchFoundation,Inc.

Records of the Swainson’s Hawk in the Cape Region, Baja California Sur, Mexico

This is the second record in the last 20 yr of the Swainson’s Hawk {Buteo swainsoni) in the Cape Region, Baja
California Sur, Mexico. Our observations were from the La Paz coastal plain near Ensenada de Aripes. This is a
suburbanandagriculturalareathroughwhichwedrivedaily.Halophytesdominatethecoastalplainandtheclimate
isBW(h')hw(x')(INEGI1994,CartaEstatal,AnexoCartografico,SintesisGeograficadelEstadodeBajaCalifornia
Sur, La Paz, Mexico). In Mexico, the Swainson’s Hawk is found in the northern Baja California Peninsula from
SonoratoeasternDurangoandCoahuilaandpossiblyinnorthernNuevoLeon(HowellandWebb1995,Thebirds
of Mexico and Central America, Oxford Univ. Press, London, U.K.). In the northern Baja California Peninsula, the
Swainson’sHawkisconsideredtobefairlycommonlocallyasatransientorsummervisitor(Grinnell1928,Adistri-
butionalsummationoftheornithologyofLowerCalifornia,CambridgeUniv.Press,NewYork,NYU.S.A.).Itscurrent
status is uncertain in the southern peninsula with only one hawk sighted on 31 October 1968 in Cabo San Lucas,
BajaCaliforniaSur(Wilbur1987,BirdsofBajaCalifornia,Univ.CaliforniaPress.,Berkeley,CAU.S.A.).Swainson’s
Hawkhabitatincludessavanna,grassyplainsandfarmlandwithscatteredtreesandbushes,TheMexicannamefor
Swainson’sHawkis“gavilanchapulinero”or“aguililladeSwainson.”
In1998,werecordedsixsightingsofaSwainson’sHawk,probablyallthesameindividual,southeastofEnsenada
deAripes,borderingthehighwayCarreteraTranspeninsularinElCentenario(24°06'36"N,110°25'05"W)andwest
ofLaPaz(24°06'27"N,110°21'31"W).Allthesightingswereofasolitaryindividualeitherflyingorperchedonpower
linesandpoles.Itwasanadult,lightmorphwithaconspicuousbreastband,withawhitethroatandbellyanddark
tail that was lighter at the base with indistinct dark bands. The hawk was first seen on 18 and 20 January and was
notseenagainuntilninemonthslaterwhenwesawiton31October,21and23November,and1December.
OtherraptorswereobservedwiththisSwainson’sHawk.TheyincludedTurkeyVultures{Cathartesaura),Red-tailed
Hawks{Buteojamaicensis).Zone-tailedHawks{B.albonotatus),CrestedCaracaras{Polyborusplancus)andAmerican
Kestrels{Falcosparverius).TherearealsoCooper’sHawks{Accipitercooperii)andOspreys{Pandionhaliaetus)inthe
area(RomeroandRodriguez1981,Densidadesenlaspoblaciones,biomasa,habitosalimenticiosyestratificacionde
Baker, Aaron J et al. 1999. "Observation of a Double-toothed Kite (Harpagus
bidentatus) hawking bats." The journal of raptor research 33(4), 343–344.

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