N&N: Migrating birds preyed on by bats

“New and Noted” in PLoS ONE

Bats’ Conquest of a Formidable Foraging Niche: The Myriads of Nocturnally Migrating Songbirds.
Popa-Lisseanu AG, Delgado-Huertas A, Forero MG, Rodríguez A, Arlettaz R, et al. (2007) PLoS ONE 2(2): e205. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0000205

Each year, billions of songbirds migrate across the Mediterranean, apparently unmolested by specific predators. However, stable isotope analysis of blood in greater noctule bats (Nyctalus lasiopterus) now shows that when the journeying birds are available, the bats eat little else. The ability to switch diet between insects in the summer and birds in spring and autumn may be key to this rare bat’s survival.