Black-and-orange Myotis

About this species

Size

Head and body 4.3–5.7cm; tail 3.6–5.6cm; forearm 4.3–5.2cm

Weight

About 15g

Diet

Insects, caught on the wing by echolocation

Habitat

Upland and lowland primary and secondary forest; roosts in caves, trees and sometimes buildings; up to about 3,000m

Range

Afghanistan to Taiwan, including many Indian states

Hodgson's bat, also called the copper-winged bat or black-and-orange myotis, is a vesper bat distinguished from most other bats in its range by its yellowish colouring. Head and body length is 4.3–5.7 cm, the tail 3.6–5.6 cm and the forearm 4.3–5.2 cm, and it weighs about 15 g. It favours mountain forests and is found from Afghanistan to Taiwan (Wikipedia, general species account).

In India it is recorded from Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Jharkhand, Sikkim, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Bihar, Assam and Mizoram, at altitudes up to about 3,000 m. It lives in upland and lowland primary and secondary forest and roosts in caves and trees, sometimes buildings. It is an insectivore that finds prey by echolocation and catches it on the wing. Breeding details in the account, such as timing, are from Taiwan (Wikipedia, general species account).

Description: Wildlife of India guide, Wildlife of Everywhere (wildlifeofeverywhere.com); general species information paraphrased from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)