Townsend's Big-eared Bat (Corynorhinus townsendii) lives in dry forests across Western North America. It feeds on insects and moths. Its conservation status is Least Concern.
Fascinating facts about the Townsend's Big-eared Bat
- A historic ranch house on Santa Cruz Island once housed a colony of about 300 Townsend's big-eared bats before the building was removed in 1974, and the bats now roost in the Scorpion adobe building. This colony is notable as the only known Townsend's population in the Channel Islands and one of the few coastal colonies south of Point Conception.
- Maternity colonies of Townsend's big-eared bats typically contain between 12 and 200 individuals, but in the eastern United States they can swell to over a thousand bats. During summer the females gather in these colonies to raise their single pup, while males remain solitary or in separate roosts.
- Townsend's big-eared bats weigh only 7-12 g and have an average lifespan of sixteen years recorded in studies. They are a small species with a relatively long lifespan for their size.
- In straight-line flight tests Townsend's big-eared bat reaches speeds of only 2.9 to 5.5 m s⁻¹, confirming its reputation for low-speed, highly manoeuvrable flight. This speed range reflects the species' low wing loading, a large wing-area-to-mass ratio that generates ample lift. The combination lets the bat hover, turn sharply and navigate cluttered roosts such as caves and tree cavities.
- Townsend's big-eared bat emits echolocation calls at such low intensities that they are often missed by conventional bat detectors. This whisper-bat strategy is linked to its diet, as the species feeds almost exclusively on moths and benefits from being quieter than many predators. Many moths can hear louder bat calls and even produce sounds to interfere, so the bat's faint calls give it a stealth advantage.
Sources
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At a glance
RangeWestern North America
HabitatDry forests
DietInsects and moths
About the Townsend's Big-eared Bat
In the velvety blackness of a moonless night, the Townsend's Big-eared Bat unfurls its leathery wings, taking to the skies with an ethereal silence, its oversized ears twitching as it navigates the landscape with a symphony of high-frequency calls. As it flits between the skeletal branches of a forest, its agility is a wonder to behold, a mesmerizing dance of pursuit and evasion, with the bat's acute hearing guiding it through the darkness in search of unsuspecting insects. With its very existence a delicate balance of life and survival, this vulnerable creature weaves an enchanting spell of nocturnal magic.
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