Anthea Fleming's posting about the bat, Nyctalus lasiopterus, which has been
eating birds, sent me to my bookshelf eager to learn more.
I could only find an answer to one of Anthea's questions. The size of this
bat was given as up to 102mm body-length, plus 66mm tail length. Not so very
big!
At the time my reference was published (1967) it recorded that practically
nothing was known about the biology of n. lasiopterus which was then known
from only a few individuals in Spain and elsewhere.
Look forward to hearing more....
Bill Jolly
"Abberton",
Lockyer Valley, Queensland.
Visit our website at http://www.abberton.org
Email:
Ph: (+61) 7 4697 6111 Fax: (+61) 7 4697 6056
-----Original Message-----
From:
Behalf Of Brian Fleming
Sent: Tuesday, 21 August 2001 10:12 AM
To:
Subject: Bats eat birds
Last week's New Scientist no 2303 (11 Aug 2001)p.23 carried the
following report:
"IN-FLIGHT SNACKS
A giant species of European bat regularly dines on birds - a first for
the bat world.
Carlos Ibanez from the Donana Biological Station, Spain, and his team
looked at 14,000 fecal pellets from Nyctalus lasiopterus. They found a
huge number of bird feathers in the pellets in spring and autumn, when
millions of small birds migrate through the Mediterranean basin at
night(Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol 98, p.9700).
They suspect the bats are capable of chasing birds down in flight,
another first for bats."
Queries arise: 1. How big is this species of bat?
2. I know the Australian Ghost Bat can and does capture small mammals,
lizards etc, caught on the ground. Are there any records of it taking
small birds - presumably from roost sites?
Anthea Fleming in Ivanhoe, Vic.
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