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Natural History and Identification of Bats in Central Coastal California (Tb-Z).
Mark R. Stromberg, Hastings Reservation
The best way to introduce the bats is probably by showing you a picture or two for each and then giving you a bit of information on the natural history of the bats. I will present them in alphabetical order, using their scientific names. The photos are mostly from a great book ("Bats of America" by Roger Barbour and W. H. Davis. 1969 Univ. of Kentucky Press). This book has a good key to the bats of North America. A Key to the California Bats will allow you figure out which bat you have in hand. Photos should not be used elsewhere without permission. Contact Bat Conservation International for photographs of bats. Amy Fesnock of Pinnacles National Monument straddling San Benito and Monterey Counties, made the bat voice recordings. Bat vocalizations are recorded with special microphones that can hear sounds that are 10x higher in frequency than humans can hear. To let us hear the sounds, they were translated by dividing the frequency by 10; thus a 20,000 Hz sound is beyond most of our hearing and is presented here as 2,000 Hz. Jeff Froke, Santa Lucia Preserve, on the southwestern flanks of Carmel Valley provided information on bat distribution there. Other information is derrived from the files at Hastings.
photo by Rober Barbour
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Brazilian Free-tailed BatTadarida brasiliensis
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Our last bat on the list so far, it resembles the Western Mastiff with part of the tail extending out from the membrane between the hind feet, but with hairs as long as the feet extending from toes (A-see below) and the ears of this bat don't meet in the middle (B- see below). A rather small bat (total length 90-105 mm), with long narrow wings, fur uniformly (tip to base) dark brown or dark gray. Ranges across central North America, through Mexico to Central America and northern South America. Migratory in cold seasons to southern parts of range. Often a cave bat, it will also form large colonies in buildings. Famous large colonies are tourist attractions at Carlsbad Caverns and in the city of Austin, Texas. Once numbering in the many millions, they have been dramatically reduced in numbers due to disturbance and destruction of caves as well as use of systemic poisons in Mexican agriculture. Populations at Carlsbad have varied from as many as 8.7 million to 250,000 in the 1960's. Conservation and education programs are helping to reverse this trend in some cases. Dramatic, loud, undulating river of bats emerge at sunset in colum that can be seen for miles. Fly up to 35 mph and sometimes Red-tailed Hawks hunt bats on the wing. Can fly to very high altitudes (10,000 feet!). Feed on small moths, and leave young in maternity roosts. Males can be found near large maternity roosts, but are more widespread. Sperm produced in Sep through Jan, breeding in winter, with a single young produced in spring. Young are often left in large groups on cave roofs. Females can find their own young in literally millions of bats to nurse them, and young are weaned and able to fly at 4-6 weeks. Can live as long as 8 years, maybe longer. Known at Pinnacles, Hastings and Santa Lucia Preserve.
Carmel Valley, Rana Creek, 2004. |
Return to Index of Bats of Central California