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A 400-Year-Old Painting Caught Bats Eating Birds Before Science Did
ScienceAlert • • science
Key Points:
- A 1611 oil painting titled Air by Jan Brueghel the Elder depicts a noctule bat holding a bird in its mouth, revealing a behavior of bat predation on birds that was only scientifically confirmed in 2025.
- Greater noctule bats (Nyctalus lasiopterus) have been shown to catch and eat migratory passerine birds mid-flight at night, a rare behavior among bats confirmed using advanced biologging technology.
- Researchers suggest Brueghel’s painting may have been inspired by direct observation or secondhand knowledge, as bird feathers in bat droppings were likely noticed centuries ago.
- The discovery emerged from a systematic review of historical art, highlighting the potential for digitized art collections to provide valuable data for modern scientific research.
- The study was published in the journal PNAS and emphasizes the growing role of art in complementing contemporary biological research.
