Created 2008
Last updated April 2018
Plecotus auritus (Linnaeus 1758)
Photo Bob Cornes
Brown long eared bats have a body length of between 37-52mm and weigh between 6 and 12 g. They can live for up to 30 years. The brown long eared bat is a woodland species whose distribution is concentrated along the Greensand Ridge which is where most of the county’s woodland is to be found. They can live for up to 30 years.
The thumb of the brown long-eared bat is more than 6.5mm long
Their most noticeable feature is their large ears, which are approximately three quarters the length of their body
.
The bat above is exhibiting the ramshorn ear position, where the ears are curled back in a ram’s horn shape.
These are extremely sensitive to the low frequency sounds made by their prey and are often known as the whispering bat as their echolocation calls are so soft they rarely register on a bat detector. The peak frequency of their call is between 35 -40kHz.
Photo Bob Cornes
This bedraggled brown long eared bat was found sheltering in a in a dormouse box …
Photo Chris Vine
but a more usual habitat is in trees or in the roof spaces of older houses and barns. They are often found in clusters hanging from roof beans and will fly the length of the roof space.
Their droppings are very distinctive and are often found in an attic in a line beneath the ridge of the roof. For more on bat droppings visit the N Ireland Mammals Amphibian and reptiles site.
Brown long eared bats enjoy eating butterflies and moths. They will hang up in night roosts and feast on these insects, discarding the wings like sweetie wrappers onto the floor beneath, before feasting on the body
Photo Bob Cornes
They fold their ears under their wings when hibernating leaving their tragus protruding.
Brown long eared bats are gleaners (i.e. the pick insects from vegetation). They have a slow highly manouverable flight an will often fly close the the ground. They appear to be curious bats and when we are watching them emerge from a bat box they will often fly over us to have a close look.
Because they fly close to the ground they are often caught by cats.What to do if you find a grounded Bat 2011-7 What to with a grounded bat
Further reading
2009-7 infra red photography of brown long eared bats
More information
http://www.bio.bris.ac.uk/research/bats/britishbats/index.htm