TY  - JOUR
A1  - Heim, Olga
A1  - Puisto, Anna I. E.
A1  - Fukui, Dai
A1  - Vesterinen, Eero J.
T1  - Molecular evidence of bird-eating behavior in Nyctalus aviator
JF  - Acta ethologica
N2  - Insectivorous bats consume a large variety of food items. Previous observations of feathers found in feces led to the hypothesis that the birdlike noctule (Nyctalus aviator, Vespertilionidae) could prey on birds. To test the hypothesis, we analyzed fecal samples from six species (Barbastella pacifica, Murina hilgendorfi, Myotis frater, N. aviator, Plecotus sacrimontis, and Vespertilio sinensis) collected from central Hokkaido, Japan, via DNA barcoding. We identified the presence of the Middendorff’s grasshopper warbler (Locustella ochotensis) in the diet of a pregnant individual of N. aviator. All the other samples proved negative regarding bird prey DNA. This is the first time that the consumption of a bird by N. aviator is confirmed with molecular evidence. Our findings add invaluable insight into the diet of this bat and its potentially opportunistic foraging behavior.
KW  - Nyctalus aviator
KW  - Locustella ochotensis
KW  - Bird prey
KW  - DNA barcoding
KW  - Sanger sequencing
Y1  - 2019
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10211-019-00319-5
SN  - 0873-9749
SN  - 1437-9546
VL  - 22
IS  - 3
SP  - 223
EP  - 226
PB  - Springer
CY  - Heidelberg
ER  -