California Leaf-nosed Bat

Macrotus californicus

Description: Small bat, body about 3 3/8" to 3 5/8" long, with a 13" wingspan. Gray to dark brown fur above with pale fur below. Large ears, erect triangular leaf shape on nose.

Range: Found from southern California to western Arizona and southern Nevada, down into Mexico.

Habitat: Likes desert scrub areas, roosts by day in caves, abandoned mines and tunnels. Occurs in small numbers, rarely seen.

Diet: Various insects, mostly crickets, grasshoppers, moths, beetles and the occasional caterpillar.

Behavior: Excellent nightvision and hearing, can see insects by starlight and hear a cricket's footsteps. Females form nursery colonies of between 100 to 500 individuals. Bears a single young each year in May or June. Doesn't hibernate so is restricted to warmer climates and underground roosts. Emerges late in the evening, not an early riser. Well-adapted to its arid habitat, has never been observed drinking water.