Brown Long-eared Bat

Name: Brown Long-eared Bat

Scientific name: Plecotus auritus

Category: Mammals

Nature Stars: 70

What are nature stars?

About: A medium-sized bat, around 9cm long and with a wingspan of 25cm. All British bats are nocturnal, feeding on midges, moths and other flying insects. They use echolocation to find their prey in the dark. Long-eared Bats roost in holes in trees and sometimes in old buildings, feeding in large gardens, along hedgerows, in parks and in woodland. They fly close to trees and bushes, feeding on moths and other insects. They hibernate between November and April.

How to identify: A medium-sized bat, with relatively slow fluttery flight. Greyish-brown fur. If seen well, the long ears are characteristic.

Where: Widespread throughout the country, absent from some Scottish Islands.

Natural Superpowers

• Predator: 80
• Agility: 80
• Rarity: 40
• Cute factor: 80
• Traveller: 60

Fantastic fact: The Brown Long-eared Bat is known as the whispering bat, because its voice is very quiet. You don't need to shout loud when you have such big ears.

Photograph credit: Dorset Ecological Counsultancy