Townsend's Big-eared Bat

Plecotus townsendii

This bat comes out late in the evening to feed, mainly on moths. In summer, females form nursery colonies of up to about 200 bats in the West and 1,000 in the East; males are solitary. Young are large and can fly at 2 1/2 to 3 weeks of age. During winter, when Townsend's Big-eared Bat hibernates in a cave, its great ears are folded back; if the bat is disturbed, the ears unfold and move in circles like antennas.

Look For : A medium-size bat with huge ears half the length of its body. Brown or gray back, tan belly.

Length : Body about 3" long.

Habitat : Western deserts and dry pine forests, and eastern oak-hickory forests.

Range : Mainly western U.S. to parts of Southwest.