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Scientists Found a Bird-Eating Bat Hidden in a 400-Year-Old Painting. Here’s Why That’s a Big Deal.

Researchers say the 1611 painting appears to show a greater noctule bat eating a songbird, centuries before scientists confirmed the behavior.

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Art, no matter how abstract or surreal, can teach us a surprising amount about ourselves, the natural world, and, as it turns out, the dietary habits of 17th-century bats. According to research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a painting dating back to 1611 appears to depict a weird bat behavior that the scientific community only confirmed last year.

The painting is called Air. Painted by Flemish artist Jan Brueghel the Elder in 1611, features more than 60 species of birds along with several bats. Researchers took a closer look at it using high-resolution digital imaging and found a........

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