All articles tagged with #noctule
Researchers analyzing Jan Brueghel the Elder’s painting Air argue it depicts a noctule bat catching a bird midflight, aligning with recent evidence that larger bats eat birds. The study links modern tracking with historical art and suggests more natural-history knowledge may be hiding in paintings, though it remains unclear whether Brueghel observed the event or drew on symbolic or secondhand observations.
A 1611 painting Air by Jan Brueghel the Elder, renowned for its detailed menagerie, appears to depict a bat catching a bird in flight. A recent PNAS paper argues this could be the first direct visual evidence of bird-eating behavior by greater noctule bats, suggesting Brueghel may have captured real natural history observations and highlighting a novel link between art and historical ecology.
Scientists used tiny backpacks with microphones and sensors to confirm that Europe's largest bat, the greater noctule, hunts and eats songbirds mid-flight, revealing a fighter jet-like pursuit behavior and providing insights into their feeding habits and conservation needs.