Do Pterosaurs Eat Bats?
I don’t recall any eyewitness report of a clear case for a modern pterosaur grabbing a bat with its mouth in mid-flight. I do know of a large bat in Europe, a species that catches some birds in flight, at night. But a pterosaur catching a bat is still highly likely, based upon a number of indirect evidences.
What allows predator to catch prey? Whether with greater speed, or with greater team work, or with greater intelligence, predators must use an advantage. And whatever elevates the predator above the prey will also make it appear different, to some degree. Of course a careless glance may not reveal any difference between a shark and the fish it eats. Falcons and sparrows are small birds; ant lions and ants are small insects. I know some exceptions: a few strange mammals eat only ants, and a few large spiders eat small birds; nevertheless, many differences are subtle, allowing predators to run or swim or fly alongside prey. . . .
Pterosaurs sightings are often around where bats are seen at night. Eskin Kuhn has mentioned finding many bats in caves at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. I know of a brother and sister who once watched a giant flying creature at night, flying back and forth where bats fly. Professor Peter Beach has seen a pterosaur-like flying creature in Washington state, where Knighthawk birds and bats fly. I know of a few cryptozoologists who have searched the sky at a secret location: a place where large pterosaur-like creatures are seen to fly at night, at the same place where much smaller bats, in much greater numbers, also fly.
A clue in this situation is this: Some daylight sightings of what seem to be modern pterosaurs have involved them catching smaller birds like sparrows and mud hens. This gives credibility to the conjecture that pterosaurs eat bats, at least in some areas.
Over a period of months, some of the nocturnal hunting excursions may be especially successful, even if the prey is a species of small animal like a bat, in particular the Big Brown Bat that is common in this part of Texas. This bat is “big” only when compared with other bats in this area of North America, for it is only about half a pound in weight. What can we predict after an especially successful hunt? The next night may see those predators hunting in the same area or a nearby area.