Overview

• The peer-reviewed paper in Science reports the first direct audio and motion evidence of a greater noctule catching, killing and consuming a European robin while airborne.
• Ultralight backpacks on 14 bats recorded 3-D movement, altitude and sound, documenting two bird attacks with one confirmed capture during spring fieldwork in southern Spain.
• Tagged bats climbed to more than 1,200 meters and executed steep, high-speed dives with rapid echolocation bursts as birds, unable to hear ultrasound, reacted only at close range.
• The successful hunt featured 21 distress calls from the robin followed by roughly 23 minutes of chewing sounds as the bat continued flying at low altitude.
• DNA and X-ray analyses of discarded songbird wings from hunting grounds matched greater noctule bites, supporting wing removal to reduce drag and aiding reconstruction of the feeding mechanics.