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The Bateleur (Terathopius ecaudatus) is a bird found in South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Botswana, Namibia, and 1 more countries. Open savanna across sub-Saharan Africa. It eats small mammals and birds, dead animals (carrion) and insects and other small invertebrates. The IUCN Red List lists it as Endangered.

🏡 Where the Bateleur lives

Open savanna across sub-Saharan Africa.

🍽️ What it eats

• 🐭 Mammals & birds50%
• 🦴 Leftovers (carrion)20%
• 🐛 Insects & bugs10%
• 🦎 Reptiles & frogs10%
• 🐟 Fish10%

A rough guide to its diet over a year. Source: EltonTraits (Wilman et al. 2014).

Conservation status

Hear the Bateleur

Recorded by Vikram (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0), xeno-canto XC940364. Trimmed to a few seconds.

Questions about the Bateleur

Where does the Bateleur live?

The Bateleur lives in South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Botswana, Namibia, and 1 more countries. Open savanna across sub-Saharan Africa.

What does the Bateleur eat?

small mammals and birds (about 50%), dead animals (carrion) (about 20%), insects and other small invertebrates (about 10%), reptiles and frogs (about 10%), fish (about 10%). These are rough shares of its diet over a year, from the EltonTraits database.

Is the Bateleur endangered?

Very few are left in the wild. Its IUCN Red List category is Endangered.

More birds from Africa

• Blacksmith lapwing
• Southern masked weaver
• Southern boubou
• Black-backed puffback
• Pin-tailed whydah
• Blue waxbill

Sources: IUCN Red List (via Wikidata), EltonTraits 1.0 (Wilman et al. 2014), GBIF sightings for countries, Wikipedia. Last updated 2026-10-19.