Bushy‐Crested Hornbills Successfully Hunting Flying Bats in Gomantong Caves, Malaysia
ABSTRACT Hornbills living in tropical forests are predominantly frugivorous, but some species incorporate small animals into their diets, and bats have only been anecdotally recorded among their prey. However, it is not well known how they are captured and how often. We observed bushy‐crested hornbi...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Ecology and Evolution |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.71744 |
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| author | José L. Tella Cristina Fuentes‐Sendín Carlos Gutiérrez‐Expósito Gema Ruiz‐Jiménez Raquel Sainz‐Elipe Cristina B. Sánchez‐Prieto David Serrano |
| author_facet | José L. Tella Cristina Fuentes‐Sendín Carlos Gutiérrez‐Expósito Gema Ruiz‐Jiménez Raquel Sainz‐Elipe Cristina B. Sánchez‐Prieto David Serrano |
| author_sort | José L. Tella |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | ABSTRACT Hornbills living in tropical forests are predominantly frugivorous, but some species incorporate small animals into their diets, and bats have only been anecdotally recorded among their prey. However, it is not well known how they are captured and how often. We observed bushy‐crested hornbills (Anorrhinus galeritus) capturing wrinkle‐lipped free‐tailed bats (Mops plicatus) in flight as thousands of them emerged from a large cave‐roost in Bornean Malaysia. At least eight individuals successfully hunted flying bats by perching on dry branches hanging from the main entrance of the cave, using two tactics: (1) by jumping and making short flights until catching the flying bats (i.e., hawking), and (2) perching, waiting for bats that fly by at short distances, catching them with quick movements of the beak (i.e., snatching). This does not appear to be an anecdotal behavior, but rather one that has gone unnoticed until now. The number of hornbills hunting was greater than that of bat hawks (Machaeramphus alcinus), a diurnal raptor specialized in hunting bats. Further systematic monitoring of these and other diurnal avian predators is necessary to fully understand the pressure they exert on bats. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-15ce6aab9b2145b18cecf5f966d27f07 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2045-7758 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ecology and Evolution |
| spelling | doaj-art-15ce6aab9b2145b18cecf5f966d27f072025-08-20T03:58:44ZengWileyEcology and Evolution2045-77582025-07-01157n/an/a10.1002/ece3.71744Bushy‐Crested Hornbills Successfully Hunting Flying Bats in Gomantong Caves, MalaysiaJosé L. Tella0Cristina Fuentes‐Sendín1Carlos Gutiérrez‐Expósito2Gema Ruiz‐Jiménez3Raquel Sainz‐Elipe4Cristina B. Sánchez‐Prieto5David Serrano6Department of Conservation Biology and Global Change Doñana Biological Station (EBD‐CSIC) Sevilla SpainIndependant Biologist Lora del Río SpainRIFCON GmbH Hirschberg GermanyIndependant Biologist Bollullos de la Mitación SpainRIFCON GmbH Hirschberg GermanyDepartment of Zoology University of Granada Granada SpainDepartment of Conservation Biology and Global Change Doñana Biological Station (EBD‐CSIC) Sevilla SpainABSTRACT Hornbills living in tropical forests are predominantly frugivorous, but some species incorporate small animals into their diets, and bats have only been anecdotally recorded among their prey. However, it is not well known how they are captured and how often. We observed bushy‐crested hornbills (Anorrhinus galeritus) capturing wrinkle‐lipped free‐tailed bats (Mops plicatus) in flight as thousands of them emerged from a large cave‐roost in Bornean Malaysia. At least eight individuals successfully hunted flying bats by perching on dry branches hanging from the main entrance of the cave, using two tactics: (1) by jumping and making short flights until catching the flying bats (i.e., hawking), and (2) perching, waiting for bats that fly by at short distances, catching them with quick movements of the beak (i.e., snatching). This does not appear to be an anecdotal behavior, but rather one that has gone unnoticed until now. The number of hornbills hunting was greater than that of bat hawks (Machaeramphus alcinus), a diurnal raptor specialized in hunting bats. Further systematic monitoring of these and other diurnal avian predators is necessary to fully understand the pressure they exert on bats.https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.71744bat nocturnal behaviorbat predatorsbat roostshornbill diet |
| spellingShingle | José L. Tella Cristina Fuentes‐Sendín Carlos Gutiérrez‐Expósito Gema Ruiz‐Jiménez Raquel Sainz‐Elipe Cristina B. Sánchez‐Prieto David Serrano Bushy‐Crested Hornbills Successfully Hunting Flying Bats in Gomantong Caves, Malaysia Ecology and Evolution bat nocturnal behavior bat predators bat roosts hornbill diet |
| title | Bushy‐Crested Hornbills Successfully Hunting Flying Bats in Gomantong Caves, Malaysia |
| title_full | Bushy‐Crested Hornbills Successfully Hunting Flying Bats in Gomantong Caves, Malaysia |
| title_fullStr | Bushy‐Crested Hornbills Successfully Hunting Flying Bats in Gomantong Caves, Malaysia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Bushy‐Crested Hornbills Successfully Hunting Flying Bats in Gomantong Caves, Malaysia |
| title_short | Bushy‐Crested Hornbills Successfully Hunting Flying Bats in Gomantong Caves, Malaysia |
| title_sort | bushy crested hornbills successfully hunting flying bats in gomantong caves malaysia |
| topic | bat nocturnal behavior bat predators bat roosts hornbill diet |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.71744 |
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