As if birds didn’t already have enough problems in this world, now it turns out that there is a large European bat (up to 18 inch wingspan) that catches and eats migrating birds on the wing. By attaching biologging tags to 14 greater noctule bats in Spain and recording the variability of the bats’ echolocation buzzing and the altitudes where they were foraging, researchers were able to determine that the bats mostly pursued and ate insects at lower altitudes under about 300 ft. But on two occasions, tagged bats were recorded flying up to nearly 4000 ft. where the intense buzzing of their echo locations showed prey pursuit. In one case, the pursuit was short as the prey apparently escaped. In the other case, the bat followed its prey (identified by vocalizations as a European robin) down close to the ground, captured, killed, and ate it (masticating sounds were recorded for 23 minutes)—all while still on the wing!
A few wings of other birds were found on the ground below the greater noctule bats’ hunting grounds, but this bat is rare and it is not known what impact their bird hunting capabilities might have on migrating European songbirds.
Based on an article in Science, 9 October 2025