Europe’s largest bat species has been discovered to possess a remarkable ability: seizing birds in mid-air and consuming them while flying. This behavior, observed by researchers last year, has now been further supported by evidence found in a 17th-century painting by Flemish artist Jan Brueghel the Elder.
The findings were recently detailed in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Mirjam Knörnschild, an animal behavior expert at Humboldt University in Berlin, praised the study as a creative blend of modern research techniques with historical art to unveil hidden biological observations.
Observation or imagination?
In the painting titled “Air,” a variety of bird species soar across the canvas alongside three different bat species. Notably, a large noctule bat is depicted in the upper right corner holding what appears to be a bird in its jaws, as noted by researcher Miguel Clavero and his team.
Clavero, an ecologist with the Spanish National Research Council, initially sought to identify all animals depicted in the painting and sought assistance from bat experts to confirm the bat’s behavior of consuming birds mid-flight.
The inquiry into the greater noctule bats’ predatory habits began in 2001 when researchers found bird feathers in bat feces, indicating a preference for larger prey. Last year, researchers utilized advanced technology, including equipping bats with miniaturized tracking devices, to confirm this behavior.
Clavero suggests that Brueghel the Elder likely acquired knowledge of the bats’ hunting behavior but might not have witnessed it firsthand. He speculates that the painter may have drawn inspiration from real-life natural history encounters.
While some experts believe that the bat-bird interaction in the painting was a product of the artist’s imagination, others argue that it could reflect lost historical knowledge. Regardless, the discovery holds promise for uncovering more wildlife insights through historical artworks.
Danilo Russo, an ecologist at the University of Naples Federico II, emphasized the importance of such discoveries in reevaluating historical biodiversity and uncovering hidden natural history within art and other historical sources.
