Europe’s biggest bat captures and devours birds while flying

It’s hard to think of a spookier wildlife scenario: A songbird is flying through the air, when it’s suddenly intercepted from above at breakneck speed by a large, fanged bat. After a brief struggle, the attacker disappears into the gloom with its bloody prey in tow. But for over two decades, biologists have suspected that these events are even darker than that scary situation. And thanks to tiny bat “backpacks,” experts have now confirmed their nightmarish theory. According to a study recently published in the journal Nature, the greater noctule (Nyctalus lasiopterus) doesn’t only kill its next meal midair—it also dismembers and devours it without landing. 

One big bat

In Europe, bats don’t get any bigger than the greater noctule. Conservationists have described the species and its 18-inch wingspan as “unmistakable due to its size.” It’s also one of the only bats known to feast on small birds. Beyond this, however, not much is known about the increasingly rare creatures. The ICUN Red List currently considers the animal “threatened,” a status that will likely grow more dire due to ongoing deforestation.

Carlos Ibáñez at the Doñana Biological Station in Seville, Spain, has spent his entire career studying the noctule. He and colleagues first discovered feathers in the bats’ droppings nearly 25 years ago, leading them to believe the species is one of the few that catches and eats birds.

“We knew that the greater noctule catches and eats insects in flight, so we assumed it did the same with birds–but we needed to prove it,” he said in a statement.

But even after installing artificial “smart” roosts, implanting microchips in the bats, and logging thousands of hours of data, Ibáñez’s team couldn’t confirm their theory. Meanwhile, others in…