Bats are the only mammals on the planet that have wings and are able to fly. These include many interesting creatures, including bats with ushans. They live in Europe, Asia, Africa and on various islands. There are also in our area.
Who are the earflaps?
Ushany belong to the vast family of smooth-nosed bats. With real mice and other rodents, they have nothing in common, except that they are also mammals. Most likely, they got such a name thanks to a squeaky voice and small size.
Ears bats represent a separate genus, which includes about 19 species. Outwardly, they are not much different from each other. All have thick fur, well-developed auricles (tragus) and a smooth muzzle, devoid of special growths from bone-cartilaginous tissue.
The species Plecotus sardus, or Sardinian ushan, is endemic to the Italian island of the same name. It is found in the forested lower reaches or near the coast. A gray ear-flap looks like it, but a little smaller. It lives in North Africa, Central and Eastern Europe, flying in forests, over parks and gardens. He is considered to be a double of an ordinary (brown) ushanka, since they have similarities in lifestyle, color and structure. Due to the strong similarity, they were not distinguished until the 1960s, considering them to be subspecies of the same species.
Bat Brown Ears
This is the most common and studied with us type of earflaps. It is characterized by a relatively small wing size, a long tail (about 40 mm) and long free wing fingers (from 6 to 7 mm). The body of the ear-flaps reaches from 4 to 5 centimeters in length. Above the small eyes are clearly visible warts. The body of the animal is covered with thick brown fur. Its shades can vary from dark brown to gray. On the chest and abdomen, the fur is lighter and has a yellow tint.
Ears bat lives in North Africa and the Middle East. It is widely distributed in Eurasia. The western border of the usan range covers Portugal, in the east it is limited to the Far East and the central regions of China. Far to the north, the bat does not climb, therefore, in Norway, Sweden or the northern parts of the taiga, the species cannot be found.
Hunting and echolocation
Brown-eared bat is a mammal that preys on small animals. Its diet consists mainly of insects and other invertebrates, for example, May beetles, butterflies, moths, caterpillars, etc. Unlike giant evenings or false vampires, larger prey is beyond their power.
A characteristic feature of all ear-flaps is large ears, which help them better capture echolocation signals. Their size is almost equal to the length of the mouse’s body and is 3-4 centimeters. Brown earflaps emit low frequency waves invisible to humans and many animals in the range of 25-85 kHz with an amplitude of 50 kHz. Reflecting from various objects, they give mice information on how objects are located around them.
Echolocation is primarily used for orientation in space, as well as for communication between relatives. Like birds, during a conversation they sing songs consisting of a dozen syllables of different sequences. The only difference is that their trills are not heard by all creatures.
Echolocation also helps bats find food. True, some insects have learned to block their signals or use their own to trick predators. During the hunt, ear-flaps may not use “superpowers” at all, relying on eyesight and excellent hearing. The sensitivity of their ears allows you to recognize the flapping wings of a moth at a distance of several meters.
Lifestyle
Ears bats live on different types of landscapes. They can live in forests, in highlands and woodlands. Often they are found in city parks, gardens and along roads. They live alone or in small groups. Raising offspring, they can unite in groups consisting of mothers and cubs.
These are sedentary animals. For the winter, they do not fly away anywhere, but hibernate in a secluded place. Such for them is a hollow in a tree, a cave, a dark attic and a basement. There the earflaps sleep in the summer, waiting for the day. When it gets completely dark, they go outside, hunting until dawn.
The flight of ear-flaps is reminiscent of the flutter of butterflies: fast and intermittent flapping of wings, circling around trees and frequent change of trajectory. From time to time they can hang in the air, fluttering wings to collect a caterpillar or spider directly from a leaf or bark.