Old Master Painting Hints at Nighttime Bat Predation on Birds
TL;DR
A 400-year-old painting by Jan Brueghel the Elder secretly depicts a noctule bat with a bird in its mouth, and new PNAS 2026 research confirms that greater noctule bats (Nyctalus lasiopterus) prey on migratory passerines in flight, a behavior only recently documented thanks to modern biologging; the artwork may reflect firsthand observation, and the finding highlights how digitized art collections can reveal surprising scientific data.
Topics:healthscience#bird-predation#brueghel-painting#noctule-bat#nyctalus-lasiopterus#pnas-2026#science
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