Photo © BBC

Bats and Birds Bunk Up

Was it for warmth and protection, or a shortage of suitable nest cavities? Noctule bats, common across Europe, were filmed by the Poznań University of Life Sciences (Poland) using the same tree cavity as European Starling chicks. This is the first time bats and birds have been recorded sharing such close quarters. Watch the short clip.

While some people may shudder at the thought of snuggling up with a bat, these furry nocturnal mammals fulfill an important ecological niche by pollinating plants and voraciously eating flying insects. Installing bat boxes on your property is a win-win, as many species of bats are in decline due to habitat loss and an introduced fungal disease. Discover how to build and install bat boxes with the Habitat Network, a citizen-science project operated by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and The Nature Conservancy.