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.

中文翻译：

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Nyctalus飞行员食鸟行为的分子证据

食虫蝙蝠消耗各种各样的食物。先前在粪便中发现羽毛的观察结果得出这样的假设，即鸟状夜蛾（Nyctalus aviator，Vespertilionidae ）可以捕食鸟类。为了检验这一假设，我们分析了粪便样品从六个种类（Barbastella茵，Murina hilgendorfi，鼠耳弗拉特，N.飞行员，Plecotus sacrimontis和蝙蝠属吸虫从中央日本北海道收集），通过DNA条码。我们确定了N. aviator怀孕个体饮食中存在Middendorff的蚱war（Locustella ochotensis）。。其他所有样品均证明对鸟类的猎物DNA呈阴性。这是首次通过分子证据证实N. aviator对鸟类的食用。我们的发现为蝙蝠的饮食及其潜在的机会觅食行为提供了宝贵的见解。