A bat is a bird or an animal? Types of bats and their characteristics

Probably, every person at least once in his life encountered bats. They can be seen in any city or village, it is only late in the evening or at night to go out into the street. When we observe these mysterious individuals, the question arises: "A bat is a bird or an animal?" Let's try to figure it out together.

An animal or a bird?

The bat is an animal that belongs to the bats. These are the only mammals that have mastered the flight. The most interesting is that the name of the species does not correspond to reality, because these animals have nothing to do with rodents. It would be logical to call them flying monkeys, since bats are more like primates. People very often argue: "To which specific species does the bat belong ?" Is it a bird or an animal? Which of these statements is true? "However, it is unlikely that a person who understands zoology can take her to birds only because she has wings. To begin with, you should know the full life of the bat. Only after this, by giving arguments, one can convince oneself of belonging to one or another genus.

Food

Almost all species of bats feed on insects. Because of this, there are constant questions about what kind of bat is a bat: a bird or an animal. Each individual has its own taste preferences: some prefer butterflies or midges, the latter - spiders or beetles, while others prefer larvae.

Often, their food bats are seized during the flight, when a potential victim hovers in the air. As a rule, they also eat on the fly, although there are also bats that prefer to hunt in a more convenient place after hunting. Their ways of extracting food are interesting enough and deserve attention. For example, some bats with certain movements of wings, reminiscent of the work of blades, rake up insects to themselves, while others use their tail membrane as a net for catching prey.

Species of bats

Like all animals, bats are divided into species. There are a lot of bats at the moment. To date, more than 1200 varieties have been discovered. It is unlikely that anyone will want to challenge the fact that the only flying mammals are the most common on the planet. According to statistics, every fifth animal is a bat. They all seem very similar, but they are not. Each species is different and has no analogues. In the temperate latitudes of the total number of mice, only fifty species live. That's why many do not even suspect that there are giant individuals! For example, the wingspan of bats living in the tropics is more than 170 centimeters. Types of bats are so diverse that research is still ongoing.

Wings

The wings of the bat are formed due to the thin skin, which stretches between the body and fingers. They are arranged so that they can produce ultrasound, which helps bats to navigate in space. With the help of this, the animal can easily detect prey or feel an obstacle on the way. Long ago people believed that these mammals like to sit on the head of women and drink blood. In fact, this is not so. The hair of the weaker sex has a peculiar structure, therefore the bat's wings, releasing ultrasound, do not receive recoil, accordingly the animal believes that it has empty space before it.

additional information

Bats have very weak eyesight (black and white) and smell. Their characteristic feature is the perfect hearing. In order to navigate well in the dark, they make a sound and understand by its echo whether there is an obstacle in its path and what is the distance to it. Thanks to this, they do not need good eyesight.

The basic habits of almost all kinds of bats are similar. All of them lead only night life, avoid bright places and do not build a nest. In the afternoon the bats sleep, hanging upside down. Most of these mammals are able to fall into a very long hibernation due to the ability to slow down the body's processes. Surprisingly, these animals can change the intensity of the frequency of breathing, affect cardiac work, reduce the metabolic rate .

Bats fly well, their flight is fast enough and maneuverable, so the question of whether a bat is a bird or an animal is controversial and is often the reason for lengthy discussions.

Science, which deals with research of bats, is called chiropterology. In just a few years, scientists were able to open dozens of new species of these creatures. Now it is proved that the most widespread and numerous animal in the whole world is a bat. But, unfortunately, at the moment they are not fully understood. Their habitat captures almost the entire globe, except for the islands in the ocean and the polar regions. They are frequent guests in the forests and deserts, plains and mountains, and also live in a crowded city, and in places where the human foot has not walked.