Brazilian Long-Nosed or Proboscis Bat

The Brazilian long-nosed bat got it's name for a reason - look at that snauz. A small bat known to fly in the night skies from Southern Mexico to Central Brazil, the Brazilian long-nosed bat is only 1.25-1.75 inches (3.5-4.5 cm) long, with a wingspan of just 4.75-6.25 inches (12-16 cm), and it is known for it's elongated snout. Also different from most other bats, are the tufts of gray hair on it's forearms. This helps them blend in with some of the gray, mossy trees of the region.

The Brazilian long-nosed bat is a slow flier, and therefore isn't equipped to hunt in the treetops (larger, faster birds would end up preying on them); so they have fallen into the habit of feeding on the insects that live on the surface of the ponds, lakes, and rivers over which they live.

They've been known to sometimes roost in rocky crevices, but mostly just cling to rocks or to concrete, where there color pattern lets them blend in, as if they were patches of lichen. Individuals bats will even roost at fairly large distances from one another in what appears to be an effort to enhance the effectiveness of their camouflage.

When Brazilian long-nosed bats are first born, their mothers will find a safe roost inside of a log or pile of stones and leave them their alone, but safe, until they are about two months old and able to fend for themselves.


The bats usually form colonies of 5-15 individuals but sometimes up to 40 or more. The groups normally include males, females and a dominant male who is the main defender of the roost and hunting zone.

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Brazilian Long-Nosed or Proboscis Bat

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Long Eared Bat

Coming from Europe and Northern Africa the longer-eared bat has ears that are not just long but humongous. The bat's fuzzy little body is only about 2 inches (5 cm) long while the ears can be about an inch and a half (3.8 cm). The bat uses its ears to good effect to catch its favorite food - moths and other insects. For example, it can hear the sounds of moths wings that are covered with down for the exact purpose of deadening its sound so that it can fly in silence and escape predators. That doesn't fool the long-eared bat, it is still able to hear the wings of super-silent moths beating and hone in. It also uses its vision to hunt (to spy out and pluck insects off of tree bark), something not all bats use that much. In flight it usually flies with its ears directed forward to catch any incoming sounds. It is also known for its delicate flying, with the ability to hover.

If it is summer the bat will sleep out in the fresh open air on trees or in tree hollows. It will leave its roost well after sunset and thread its way through the thick forest trees feeding leisurely throughout the night, living mostly solitary. In the winter though it will find a nice cave to sleep through the winter clustering up with 8 to 12 other bats.

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Big Ears Come in Handy - Long-Eared Bat

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Honduran White Bat

The Honduran White Bats also known as tent-making bats are a very rare sight indeed. Besides Honduras, they also live in other Central American countries - Panama, Nicaragua and Costa Rica. There are only 15 species of bats in the Americas (and another 3 species in Asia) known to make their roosts (tents/sleeping quarters) underneath the leaves of plants. Since the bats are tiny the home inside of the leaves gives good protection from the rain and possible predators and they look quite comfy in there. How do the manage to hang on to the stem upside down and sleep? Having white fur and yellow nose and skin is also extra rare for bats.

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Honduran White Bat - Tent Bat

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Giant Golden-crowned Flying Fox, Fruit Bat, World's Largest Bat, Endangered

Giant Golden-crowned Flying Fox, Fruit Bat, World's Largest Bat, Endangered.
The Giant golden-crowned flying fox, or as it's sometimes known, the golden-capped fruit bat, is the largest known species of bat in the world. Getting its name from the golden fur that sits around its head, and its 5 ft (1.5 meter) wingspan; the giant golden-crowned flying fox has no tail and weighs up to 2.6 lbs (1.2 kg). It inhabits the Philippine islands of Bohol, Boracay, Cebu, Leyte, Luzon, Mindanao, Mindoro, Negros and Polillo, and is confined mainly to their rainforests at elevations ranging from sea level, all the way to 3,600 ft (1.1 km).
Preferring to stay almost exclusively in untouched areas of forest, human intrusion into the rainforest, as well as poaching (they're hunted for their meat and pelts) has caused the giant golden-crowned flying fox to reach a population level low enough that extinction of the species is feared. A primarily nocturnal creature (as are most bats), it can travel at least 25 miles (40 km) per night while searching for food – mostly figs but also regional fruits like puhutan, lamio, bankal, tangisang, bayawak and strangler figs. Referred to as “The Silent Planter”, giant golden-crowned flying-foxes are known to scatter the seeds of the fruit they eat in their dropping; this makes them vital to the ecosystem of the Philippines' rainforests. Prior to the thinning of their species, giant golden-crowned flying-foxes were known to make colonies with another large bat species (Malayan Flying Foxes). These colonies, meant to help them keep warm and avoid predators, actually ended up making them easier to hunt, and aided in their ascent into near extinction. Due to their vitality to their ecosystem, it's important that efforts are made to conserve the impressive species that is the giant golden-crowned flying fox.

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Giant Golden-crowned Flying Fox, Fruit Bat, World's Largest Bat, Endangered

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