Overview
- The study published June 29 in PNAS reports that Jan Brueghel the Elder’s 1611 canvas Air contains a painted bat that researchers identify as a greater noctule holding a passerine.
- Field teams in 2025 used 3D biologging tags with acoustic and movement sensors to directly document Nyctalus lasiopterus intercepting and eating migrating songbirds while airborne.
- Independent lines of evidence include feather fragments from up to 31 passerine species found in greater noctule droppings and bioacoustic recordings of capture events, which together support the 2025 observations.
- Pedro Romero-Vidal found the Lyon museum version of Air during a systematic review of historical art and argues the bat’s size, color and ear and wing shapes fit Nyctalus lasiopterus rather than a generic symbolic bat.
- Authors say the finding shows how careful study of detailed historical art, paired with growing digitization and modern ecological tools, can extend and reinforce long-term natural-history knowledge.