Mammals · Chiroptera · Vespertilionidae

Grey Long-Eared Bat

Plecotus austriacus

Near Threatened

It could become endangered in the near future if current threats go unchecked. See full glossary

A medium-sized bat with enormous ears, almost as long as its forearm and joined to each other along their inner edges. A dark grey back and whitish belly, with a dark mask around the eyes that tells it apart from the brown long-eared bat. At rest it curls its ear pinnae like a ram's horns.

Weight

7 g – 15 g

Size

4 cm – 5.8 cm

Lifespan

12 years

Diet

Insectivore

Feeds mainly on insects and other invertebrates.

Activity

Nocturnal

Active mainly at night.

Social structure

Colony

Lives in large concentrations, often for breeding reasons.

Sighting difficulty

Moderate

GrasslandInsectivore Nocturnal Colonial Near Threatened Grassland Mammal

46countries 122parks14same family

Fun facts

GeneralIts ears are nearly half the length of its body, and it folds them away at rest.
It creates genuine graveyards of prey: it carries each moth back to its perch to eat and the discarded wings pile up underneath.
Its echolocation is so faint that it barely reaches five metres, which lets it hunt without being detected by moths with ultrasonic receptors.
Its large ears also serve it for passive listening: it hears moths moving among the leaves without needing to emit a single pulse.

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type: Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (mammal)
Habitat & environment: Farmland, dehesa, caves and building lofts
Birth weight: Born naked and blind, entirely dependent on its mother
Size at birth: Born naked and blind; it flies at four or five weeks
Sexual maturity: Males after their first year; females at two or three years
Gestation / incubation: About 2 months of gestation
Litter / clutch size: A single young from the second half of June on, in small colonies of 10 to 30 females

Sources consulted: IUCN Red List (e.T85533333A85533603); SECEM - Atlas de los mamíferos terrestres de España; MITECO; Región de Murcia Digital (ficha Plecotus austriacus); Dietz y Kiefer 2016