Canyon Bat (Parastrellus hesperus) lives in desert canyons across Western North America. It feeds on insects and spiders. Its conservation status is Least Concern.
Fascinating facts about the Canyon Bat
- The canyon bat is the tiniest bat in the United States, with a wingspan of only 190-215 mm and a body length of 62-80 mm, making it exceptionally small for a mammal. It weighs just 3-6 g, a mass comparable to a few pennies. This diminutive size is reflected in its short, broad wings that enable it to fly as slowly as 8 km per hour, a speed that aids its insect hunting. Its tiny dimensions also mean it must seek cool roosts to avoid lethal dehydration in desert heat.
- Its short, broad wings form a low-aspect design that lets the canyon bat glide at just 8.0 km per hour. This slow, manoeuvrable flight is ideal for catching insects in the open above low trees and is especially useful during the bat's peak activity just after sunset and before sunrise.
- The ears of the canyon bat measure only 9 mm, roughly the length of a fingernail, making them very small. These tiny ears sit on a short, broad head and accompany a small, club-shaped tragus.
- The canyon bat is usually the first bat to emerge at dusk and the last one still flying after sunrise, making it a reliable indicator of bat activity at the edges of night. Its peak foraging period occurs in the hours immediately after sunset and just before sunrise, when it hunts insects in open air. Although it normally rests during the deep night, on rare occasions individuals have been seen soaring in full daylight during late morning hours.
- During daylight the canyon bat seeks shelter in narrow rock crevices, which are its preferred roosting sites across its range and provide protection from the desert heat that can cause fatal dehydration. It will also use crevices inside abandoned mines, and less often it may be found in buildings, under rocks or in dense sedge growths.
Sources
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At a glance
RangeWestern North America
HabitatDesert canyons
DietInsects and spiders
About the Canyon Bat
In the twilight skies above the desert canyons, the Canyon Bat dances with effortless elegance, its leathery wings beating at a hypnotic pace as it pursues the evening's insects with unerring precision. With each agile maneuver, it weaves a intricate tapestry of sound and motion, its high-frequency calls echoing off the rocky walls as it navigates the labyrinthine passages with instinctive ease. As the stars begin to twinkle in the night sky, the Canyon Bat's nocturnal ballet reaches its crescendo, a mesmerizing spectacle of aerial acrobatics and echolocation wizardry.
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