The smallest of all the bent-wing bats, with a body only a few centimetres long – about the same as a couple of coins. Its fur is chocolate brown on top and a bit lighter on the belly, and it has a short muzzle, a domed head and small, rounded ears that give it a neat, tucked-in look. The feature that really makes it special is its wings. One of the “fingers” inside each wing is extra long and folds back underneath when the bat is resting, creating the bent shape that gives the species its name.
This little bat is a night hunter that loves forests and woodlands. It prefers areas with lots of trees and shrubs, and it spends its nights flying through the lower and middle parts of the forest, weaving between branches while chasing insects on the wing. Beetles, moths, flies and even spiders are all on the menu, which makes the little bent-wing bat a very effective natural pest controller. During the day, it disappears into dark, snug roosts such as caves, abandoned mines, tunnels, stormwater drains and sometimes old buildings. There it squeezes into cracks or hangs in tight clusters with other bats.
In the warmer months, females gather in huge “maternity” colonies to give birth and raise their pups. Some of these nursery caves can hold thousands of bats, turning the ceiling into a living, rustling blanket. At dusk, when the whole colony streams out of the cave entrance, it can look like a plume of smoke pouring into the evening sky.
The little bent-wing bat is found across northern and eastern Australia and also in nearby regions such as Indonesia, New Guinea, the Philippines and Vanuatu, making it a quiet but widespread neighbour in the tropics and subtropics. In some places, its breeding range seems to have crept further south than it used to be, and scientists are watching to see whether this might be linked to changes in climate and temperature.
Distribution
Australia
Brunei
East Timor
Indonesia
Malaysia
New Caledonia
Papua New Guinea
Philippines
Solomon Islands
VanuatuAnything we've missed?
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Terrestrial / Aquatic
Altricial / Precocial
Polygamous / Monogamous
Dimorphic (size) / Monomorphic
Active: Diurnal / Nocturnal
Social behavior: Solitary / Pack / Colony
Diet: Carnivore / Herbivore / Omnivore / Piscivorous / Insectivore
Migratory: Yes / No
Domesticated: Yes / No
Dangerous: Yes / No
