Bat Species Identification

Bat Species Identification

Bat detectors are the most common way to identify the species of flying bats. There are distinct types of call which can indicate the genus, and variations in pattern and frequency which indicate the species. For readers not familiar with the different types of bat detector, there is further information below and elsewhere.

Bats also make social calls, which are less useful for species identification. They sound different from the echolocation calls and do not have the same frequency patterns. Fuller details on the types of call and other clues to species identification follow below but Pipistrelles (or "Pips") give good examples of what can be discovered with a bat detector and make a good start to learning how to identify bats.

Bat detectors pick up various signals in the ultrasound range, not all of which are made by bats. To distinguish bat and bat species it is important to recognise non-bat species.

Captured bats can be exactly identified in the hand but in many countries a licence is required before bats can be captured.