Table of Contents
- The Night Sky’s Secret Predator
- How Scientists Captured the Evidence
- A High-Altitude ‘Dogfight’
- Why Bats Are Turning to Birds
- What This Means for Nighttime Ecosystems
- Sources
Bat Attacks Bird: A Shocking Twist in the Food Chain
In a discovery that’s rewriting what we know about nocturnal predators, scientists have documented the first direct evidence of a bat attacking and eating a migratory bird midair—thousands of feet above the ground. The predator? Europe’s largest bat, the greater noctule. The prey? A European robin, caught during its spring migration.
This isn’t just unusual—it’s revolutionary. Bats are widely known as insect-eaters, but this new finding confirms they can hunt vertebrates nearly half their own body weight while flying at high altitudes.
How Scientists Captured the Evidence
For decades, researchers like Dr. Carlos Ibáñez of Spain’s Doñana Biological Station suspected greater noctule bats ate birds. They’d found feathers and bird DNA in bat droppings—but without seeing it happen, skepticism remained.
The breakthrough came in spring 2023, when a team led by Dr. Laura Stidsholt of Aarhus University equipped 17 bats with ultra-lightweight sensors in Doñana National Park. One device recorded something extraordinary: the frantic flapping of wings, a bird’s distress call, and then… chewing.
“We finally figured out the murder mystery,” Dr. Stidsholt said.
A High-Altitude ‘Dogfight’
Using audio, altitude, and motion data from the sensor, researchers reconstructed the chase in stunning detail:
| Event | Altitude | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Initial detection | ~4,000 ft | Bat locates robin during migration |
| Pursuit begins | 4,000 → 1,000 ft | Bat dives in falcon-like trajectory |
| Capture & kill | ~1,000 ft | Bite to the neck; bird stops calling |
| Feeding | Midair | 23 minutes of chewing; wings discarded to reduce drag |
“It was like a dogfight,” Dr. Stidsholt described—comparing the maneuver to aerial battles between raptors and their prey.
Why Bats Are Turning to Birds
While risky, hunting birds offers major nutritional rewards. Dr. Elena Tena, a co-author of the study, explains that these high-calorie meals are crucial during two key periods:
- Spring: Female bats need extra energy for gestation.
- Fall: Bats bulk up before winter hibernation.
Unlike tropical bat species that occasionally snack on perched birds, the greater noctule hunts live, flying migrants—making this behavior uniquely aggressive and adaptive.
What This Means for Nighttime Ecosystems
The discovery highlights how little we understand about the “aerial ocean”—the vast, dark expanse of the night sky where billions of creatures migrate unseen.
“It was very cool to have a peek into a very unstudied ecosystem,” Dr. Stidsholt noted. Experts like Dr. Danilo Russo of the University of Naples call the study “a compelling example of how new technologies can solve decades-old mysteries.”
Understanding these dynamics is urgent: greater noctule bats are threatened by habitat loss and wind turbines, and their role as apex nocturnal predators may be more vital than previously thought.
