Factors affecting the use of flight-hunting areas by three common raptors (rock kestrel Falco tinnunculus L., jackal buzzard Buteo rufofuscus (Forster), and black-shouldered kite Elanus caeruleus (Desfontaines)) were analysed in a montane grassland area. Seasonal variation in foraging site selection was examined, based on five habitat parameters: regrowth time since burn, cover density, grass height, rockiness and slope. Kestrels and buzzards moved into recently burnt areas to hover, while kites hovered over undisturbed grassland. Increased small mammal and large insect availability characterized newly burnt savanna and are suggested as reasons behind the habitat change by two of the three raptors. An increase in the use of rocky grassland by kestrels and buzzards coincided with the availability of juvenile skinks in this patchily-distributed habitat.