This Halloween, a new bat is showing off its unique hunting skills. Scientists put trackers on greater noctule bats (which, despite their name, are just a few inches long) to learn how they hunt migrating songbirds. Turns out, they are master predators, taking down—and eating—small birds for the ultimate mid-flight meal.
I wrote about it for Science News Explores: Analyze This: Some bats feast on songbirds in midflight.
Photo by Jorge Sereno (permission via the study authors)
Did you know? There are 17 species of bats that eat vertebrates (animals with backbones), but only three eat birds. (according to Ilias Foskolos, who I interviewed for the article)
Want to know more? Check out my Science News article about these mic’d bats here.
Gruesome discovery details how bats hunt birds