Bats mix their metaphors

It is commonly said in England that someone with delusions is "bats in the belfry".  In Australia one of the many equivalents is "a few kangaroos loose in the top paddock".  Today we nearly combined these with bats in the top shed.  As always there is a story.

We were storing an un-needed mattress in our top shed and decided that we needed to shift some old quilts (used for packing furniture during a move) to make space for it.  As I grabbed the quilt and moved it I noticed something dark in it.  A small bat had roosted in there.  So I then moved it more carefully out of the way.  On looking down a second small bat had fallen on to the floor!

I have previously found bats roosting in piles of firewood but not in textiles.  As I tried to move them around I used some cardboard as a spatula and was careful not to touch them because:
  1. I was not sure that this might not damage them in some way; and
  2. bats have a reputation as biters.
At one point in the process one of the bats opened its mouth and I got a look at, but no  image of, its dentition.  The following image is of Brandt's Bat (thanks for the image Bedfordshire Bat Society) but the overall effect is similar.
Apart from this rather carnivorous image, they seemed very cute with the wings appearing to come up to shade their eyes from the light.  The overall size of these two can be assessed by comparing with my (unpunctured) pinky.  The top joint of this dainty digit is 34mm long so scaling up makes this bat about 45mm body length.
The next couple of images show the overall face of the bat and a close-up showing some aspects of the face and a wing-claw.

I believe the Y shaped groove on the muzzle ridge makes it a Lesser Long-eared Bat (Nictophilus geoffroyi) which is supported by the white belly fur.  Even more evidence comes from Sue Churchill's comment about finding one roosting in a rolled up swag.

Putting them back in the quilt didn't seem sensible so I found an old packing carton that seemed to provide a nce little slot for them to hide in.  If they don't like this residence I am sure they will move and find somewhere better.  At least this let me get a little light into the image (I didn't think that using a flash would be pleasant for them).


Comments

Denis Wilson said…
Very cute.
You did better than I did. i had one in the house and could help it (impossible to catch).
Found it several months later, mummified, behind the large wardrobe.
Cheers
Denis
8 August 2011 at 20:49:00 GMT+10
Flabmeister said…
Denis

I have made myself a net for catching them indoors. Basically bird netting on a wire coat hanger attached to a broom handle. Very Boys Own magazine!
It takes a bit of luck to catch one, but we have an incentive. Our small dog chases them around the house, so we aren't going to get any sleep until we do!

Martin
9 August 2011 at 06:13:00 GMT+10
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