Brown long-eared bat

Description

The fur of the brown long-eared bat is long and loose and has a grey-brown colour, the underpart and the neck are clearly lighter grey and bear a yellowish spot. The most striking feature are the ears, which at about 4 cm long are almost as long as the body. The front edge of the ears is heavily ciliated. The ears are upright at the beginning of the flight and remain upright during the flight itself. During daytime lethargy (torpor) and hibernation they are folded back under the wings. Especially in winter, the snout is significantly enlarged due to the glands on the nose. Brown long-eared bats reach a body length of around 42 to 53 mm, a wingspan of 24 to 29 cm and a weight of 5 to 11 g.

Habitat

Brown long-eared bats are forest dwellers to a greater extent than other long-eared species. They prefer loose deciduous and coniferous woodland or parkland, often flying in dense undergrowth, their broad wings helping with manoeuvrability. They are also capable of shaking flight, in which the position remains unchanged in relation to an earth-fixed point. They use trees as roosts, sometimes bird or bat boxes or buildings. For winter habitats during hibernation, they use caves or mines.

The text is a translation of an excerpt from Wikipedia (https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braunes_Langohr). On wikipedia the text is available under a „Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike“ licence. Status: 17 August 2021