It’s a Bird…It’s a Plane…Nope, It’s a BAT!I bet you’re thinking right now if you have ever seen a bat. Well, I bet you have, and just don’t know it…Even if you live in Canada, like I do, I still bet you have seen bats.Have you ever seen birds flying at night? Well, I’m sure you have. You know, when it is twilight, or good moonlight, occasionally, you’ll see a bird in flight at night. Well, guess what, it’s probably a bat..Now think back to one of those instances…Was that bird flying straight and steady, or was that “bird” flying erratically? …something like how a butterfly would fly if it was a bird?…Yup, you guessed it…That was most likely a bat. At night, most birds are asleep in their nests and the trees.No need to panic! They are not coming for you to suck your blood, contrary to popular belief. They use echolocation to find objects in their path. They use higher frequency sounds and thus shorter wavelengths to locate their food. Most Canadian bats use ultrasonic echolocation calls, meaning humans cannot hear these frequencies because they are too high. Sometimes, bats will swoop down, but it for certain is not because they are trying to get you, they are using sound waves to locate those bugs around you that they want to catch.
* Neat Fact: There is 1 notable exception to the Canadian bat ultrasonic rule…The spotted bat of the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia, uses frequencies that are low enough for a human to actually hear.
A person can see how important sound is to their lives ju 토토꽁머니 by looking at how large their ears are in comparison to their little bodies.
* Note: Bats are not blind, also contrary to popular belief. They use their eyes just like we do. However, they employ echolocation, as well, at night to help them locate their prey
For the most part, bats come out in the evening and night to feed. They rest, upside down, during the day, awaiting nightfall so they can feed on insects. Since they are already upside down, in order to fly, they just let go and…Voila! Flight.
They don’t glide/soar, as do birds like eagles or falcons, and they don’t fly like robins or sparrows where they go in a straight line and flutter their wings periodically. They constantly need to work and flap their wings, all the while sending out sonar to find little insects, that also fly spastically…That’s why their flight pattern is so odd, and is so distinguishable.
Guess how I learned about this…Okay, you won’t…
My Story: Back in 1994-1995, I lived in Australia. One of the softball teams I played on was a local softball team in Perth, Western Australia (the Kalamunda Knights). We often practiced in the evening, as it was extremely hot during the day, and many of the girls worked.One of the first nights we practiced, when I arrived in Aussieland, I asked some of the girls on the team what kind of birds were flying around the treetops. We practiced right next to a forested area. We had the typical sports field lights at the softball diamond, and you could catch glimpses of flitting “birds”, so I thought…They immediately informed me that they were bats. Of course, this intrigued me, and I watched them often.
Once you know what to look for, you see them all the time. I was pleasantly surprised, when I came back to Canada that next summer, to see our own homeland Canadian bats come out at night! I just love filling people in on this little secret. I love to see their eyes light up when they realize that they have actually seen a bat! I love opening up their mind, and changing their schema about bats.* Neat Fact: One little bat can eat from 50 to over 100% of their body weight of insects each summer night. They certainly help keep the mosquito population down! Thank you…Bats!In Canada, there have been 19 different species of bat recorded, 17 of which are regular residents of Canada.
Scientific Classification of
Bats: Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Infraclass: Eutheria Superorder: Laurasiatheria Order: ChiropteraThere are 2 Suborders: Megachiroptera and Microchiroptera.There are so many species of bat, that they are separated into Superfamilies, too numerous to list here.* That’s right…Bats are mammals, like you and me! They aren’t birds. They are warm-blooded, give birth to live young (no, they do not lay eggs), and suckle their young. What really sets them apart from other mammals is their wings…they can fly! Their fingers, hands and arm bones are attached together by a thin fold of skin that forms their wings…Their wing membranes attach to their bodies and hind legs, and in Canadian species, their tail is enclosed as well…Wow, amazing.
