A Eurasian hobby has been observed catching and eating eight bats on the wing in just half an hour. The behaviour, which has only been recorded a handful of times before, is reported in the Journal of Raptor Research.
The Eurasian hobby (Falco subbuteo) is a small, slender falcon, known for the lengthy migration it makes every year from its breeding grounds in the Palearctic (Europe, Russia and Asia) to Central and Southern Africa.
Migration is energetically demanding, so to complete their journeys, the birds must find spots to rest and refuel. The Messolonghi-Aitoliko lagoons of southwestern Greece are a popular stopover site. They provide the birds with a diverse range of prey, before they push on across the Mediterranean.
Apostolos Christopoulos from the University of Athens studied the falcons feeding at the lagoons, where he watched four different hobbies snatching small insectivorous bats on the wing.
On 12 October 2025, at twilight, one particular juvenile – identified by a distinctive protruding tail feather – made at least 100 predation attempts over the space of 30 minutes. At least eight of these were successful.
The youngster grabbed each bat with its talons and then devoured it in flight, discarding the wings and other inedible parts into the lagoon below.
“The observation represents a predation event recorded at a scale that has never been documented before in Greece,” says Christopoulos. “Many people may not realise how strongly these birds depend on specific key locations and on the presence of stable local prey populations.”
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Eurasian hobbies are thought to feed predominantly on small birds and insects. The study suggests that migrating hobbies will opportunistically exploit other prey species too, including bats.
In this case, the hobbies targeted bats that were members of the Pipistrellus group. Thanks to the traditional stone-built houses of Aitoliko, and the rich wetland habitats in the surrounding area, the pipistrelles here have many places to roost. And even though an adult hobby weighs over 130 grams, and a Pipistrellus bat weighs less than 10 grams, the diminutive mammals still provide a welcome source of nutrition.
In a time of profound environmental change, the work highlights the value of these stopover sites for migrating raptors. “By documenting this behaviour, we demonstrate that conserving local prey populations, through the protection of the habitats in which they live, is essential for the survival of migratory raptors,” says Christopoulos.
Top image: Panoramic view of Aitoliko, a settlement built on an islet in the middle of the Greek lagoon. Credit: Apostolos Christopoulos
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