Bats
In Redwall
- Alignment: Good
- Nicknames: Wingmouse, winged mouse
- Appearance: Bats don't wear clothes and look like bats in our
world.
- Habitat: All bats live in caves.
- Typical Personality: Bats tend to be somewhat quiet, but
friendly. They like to be left to themselves but will help travelers.
- Habits: Bats often repeat words and speak in a soft voice.
Outside Redwall
- Classification:
CHIROPTERA
; VESPERTILIONIDAE
; Pipistrellus pipistrellus [common pipistrellus]
- Other Names: flittermouse
- Appearance: Bats look a lot like winged mice, with wings rather
than forepaws. Most are some shade of brown. They can be extremely
small, such as the bats below. Pipistrelles are around 3.5 - 4.5
centimetres in length with a wingspan of 19 - 25 centimetres, weighing from
3 to 8 grammes.
- Life Span: Up to 16 years
- Diet: Bats eat moths and other nighttime flying insects- and tons
of them! One pipistrelles will eat around 3000 insects a night.
- Habitat: Bats roost in various places. Social ones (those
that live in groups) roost in caves, buildings, hollow trees, animal
burrows, abandoned mines and other protected areas. Solitary bats
roost among leaves or under the bark of trees, rock crevices and other
suitable spaces. Many British bats even live underground.
- Typical Personality: Bats don't really have a typical, species-wide
personality, according to "About the Witton Pipistrelles."
Some will squeak and eat all the time while others will scream at people and
other bats and try to bite others.
- Habits: Bats use echolocation, but are not blind. Many
have very good eyesight. One species can see as well as the best night
vision goggles. They are nocturnal and migratory. Some species
live in large groups, called colonies, while others are solitary.
- Life Cycle: In June or July, the bat has usually one offspring,
though occasionally they have twins. The young feed on their mother's
milk for about three weeks, when they begin to take their first flights and
start foraging.
- Sites for Further Research:
 |
 |
| A young pipistrelle |
A common pipistrelle |