Bats use a hidden superpower to hunt faster

Bats do not just hunt by ear. A new study on wild common noctule bats shows that light changes how they chase insects, and it changes their speed as well. These bats still use echolocation during the hunt, sending out high-pitched calls and listening for echoes.

A team from Aarhus University and the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research found that bats also keep functional vision. They can blend information across senses, a pattern supported by earlier lab work on multisensory integration.

Tuning sonar for precision

Decades of research show that bats adjust call timing, intensity, and frequency as they close in on prey. This flexibility helps them track fast movements and cut through cluttered backgrounds instead of relying on a fixed pattern.

Vision also plays a role – when there is even a little light in the sky, it adds information that complements echoes and helps refine tracking decisions.

This is especially useful at dusk, when many bats leave their roosts. To explore how bats integrate sound and light in real time, researchers tagged 21 wild common noctules (Nyctalus noctula) with tiny recorders that captured light, ultrasound, and motion.

The tags documented commuting flights between sites and foraging flights over open air. Meanwhile, sensors tracked call intervals, call loudness, wingbeat strength, flight speed, and ambient brightness, allowing the team to compare behavior in both dark and lit conditions.

Bat vision reshapes the hunt

When the environment was lit, the bats called less often but somewhat louder. They cut call rate roughly in half and increased loudness by up to seven decibels compared with darkness, while still intercepting prey.

Approach speed rose from about 11.6 miles per hour in the dark to about 17.7 miles per hour in light, a large jump for an aerial chase. Faster approaches with fewer calls suggest that vision helped fill in key details when it was available.

“We show that the bats reduce the acoustic tracking of their prey when enough light is available as complementary sensory information,” said Laura Stidsholt, an assistant professor of biology at Aarhus University.

“We were able to reveal that this happens because the bats flapped their wings more vigorously in light environments and approached the insects significantly faster than in dark environments.”

Impact on bat biology

The same study showed that commuting behavior stayed stable across light levels, indicating bats keep sonar running for short range orientation even when they can see.

That pattern lines up with controlled experiments showing some species maintain signature echolocation behaviors even when light is present during target approaches.

Hunting is different from commuting because prey can jink, drop, or climb in an instant. Adding vision gives another stream of information that can speed up choices without sacrificing accuracy.

Artificial light shifts bat behavior

Dusk is a prime time for insects, and open-air hunters like noctules take advantage of that window. Streetlights and skyglow, however, can create uneven patches of brightness that alter how bats balance vision and echolocation during those early hours.

That doesn’t mean more light is always better. Species differ in their tolerance of artificial illumination, and many avoid bright areas altogether.

Local context – such as habitat type, light intensity, and insect activity – still plays a major role in shaping bat behavior.

Technology reveals hunting secrets

New bat-borne sensors that log sound, light, and movement at high resolution are giving biologists a way to see hunting from the bat’s perspective.

These tags capture moment-by-moment choices that are impossible to observe from the ground, revealing how animals adapt to changing conditions.

By combining synchronized data streams, researchers can distinguish commuting from prey pursuit and link call patterns to wingbeats and acceleration. This level of detail strengthens long-standing theories of bat foraging while showing how vision and echolocation complement one another.

Echolocation samples the world in rapid pings, while vision – when light is available – provides continuous input. Together, they reduce uncertainty during fast maneuvers.

Field evidence now confirms that bats can integrate both senses in real time to catch evasive prey, underscoring their flexibility in dynamic, human-influenced landscapes.

Planning with bats in mind

Scientists want to know how general this pattern is across bat families and habitats. Noctules hunt in open spaces, while other species forage along edges or within cluttered vegetation.

Future work can test how cloud cover, moon phase, and artificial light influence the balance between sight and sound. Comparative studies may also reveal how eye structure and call design shape sensing choices.

Urban lighting plans can consider bat activity without compromising safety. Warmer color temperatures, targeted fixtures, and darker corridors can reduce disruption where sensitive species forage.

Fine grained data like those in this study can help planners know when and where lighting changes matter most. That can support both biodiversity and human needs.

The study is published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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