After nearly 25 years of research, an international team of scientists has finally solved a mystery about the greater noctule bat (Nyctalus lasiopterus), Europe’s largest bat species These remarkable predators hunt and capture migrating birds more than a kilometer above ground and consume them without landing.
Using high-resolution biologging tags, researchers documented how these bats ascend to high altitudes and engage in long echo-guided chases to catch passerine birds during their nocturnal migration The study reveals that greater noctule bats use ultrasonic echolocation as a private sensory channel to exploit this rich food resource that remains largely inaccessible to most predators.
Published in Science journal, this groundbreaking research provides the first scientific documentation of how these specialized aerial predators locate, pursue, and consume relatively large bird prey while flying.
The findings demonstrate that these bats have evolved sophisticated hunting strategies to tap into the billions of passerines that migrate seasonally at high altitudes during nighttime.
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