Yes, owls do eat bats—but it’s not as common as you might think. While bats aren’t a staple in an owl’s diet, certain owl species like the Barn Owl, Great Horned Owl, and Tawny Owl are known to prey on them, especially when opportunities arise.
Owls are highly adaptable, nocturnal predators that feed on a variety of animals, including small mammals, birds, insects, and occasionally other birds of prey. Bats, being small and airborne, fit the criteria, but catching them is no easy feat. Owls rely on their exceptional hearing, night vision, and silent flight to ambush bats near their roosts or intercept them mid-air. They typically go after juvenile, injured, or less agile bats to increase their chances of success.
Do Owls have a difficult time to hunt bats?
- Owls eat bats only occasionally and occasionally, but it is also the case bat aggregations may be a significant local food source for certain species and owls at certain time. Additionally, the decline in prey (rodent) quantity could lead to owls expanding their diet to include bats.
- Owls do hunt bats and are responsible for about 11% of the deaths of bats annually. It varies based on bat species and location, however overall bats are a kind of prey that is consistent for a variety of species of owls.
- Bats can fly and while Owls are skilled fliers but it’s a lot difficult to spot something that is moving around than it is at ground level. In this way, they are able to detect the location of objects and pinpoint them in their spatial navigation. This means they can hunt efficiently and remain in a safe manner while flying.
- Owls are able to use their silent flight to catch unwitting rodents. This isn’t true for bats since they sense the presence of an owl by echolocation. They can echo detect which means that they can broadcast calls into the world and listen to the echo’s they get back from those calls.
- It is necessary to study the possible impacts of the owl’s predation on bat populations and to understand the ecological and environmental interactions between the owl species and their primary prey species. Predation by bats on owls is worthy of more research because, on the one side, it could help us gain knowledge about bats’ biodiversity and distribution. On the other hand, it may be a source of danger for smaller populations of endangered bats.
Which Bat Species Do Owls Eat Most Often?
Studies have shown that owls prefer smaller bat species, especially those weighing less than 33 grams. In fact, six bat species make up about 70% of all the bats found in owl diets. These most commonly eaten bats include:
- Common Pipistrelle (Pipistrellus pipistrellus) – 16.0%
- Greater Mouse-Eared Bat (Myotis myotis) – 15.2%
- Kuhl’s Pipistrelle (Pipistrellus kuhlii) – 11.9%
- Parti-Coloured Bat (Vespertilio murinus) – 9.8%
- Noctule Bat (Nyctalus noctula) – 9.1%
- Serotine Bat (Eptesicus serotinus) – 7.3%
Bats that weigh more than 33 grams are rarely eaten and make up only 0.6% of the total. Most other bat species are each found in less than 5% of the owl diet samples.
Interestingly, no single bat species is eaten by all eight European owl species. However, the Whiskered Bat (Myotis mystacinus) is found in the diets of seven out of eight of them. Other commonly shared prey across six owl species include:
- Pipistrellus pipistrellus
- Myotis myotis
- Myotis nattereri
- Eptesicus nilssoni
- Plecotus auratus
The heaviest bat recorded in the owl diet is the Egyptian Fruit Bat (Rousettus aegyptiacus), which weighs about 135 grams. It has been found in the diet of two owl species, including the Eagle Owl, which is large and powerful enough to hunt such sizable prey.
If You want to see how Owl Captures Bat
Owl couples hunt bats
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Resources
- intechopen.com
- opticsmag.com
- owlchatter.com