Spotlight on Nature: Bat

Spotlight on Nature: Bat — page 1 — MEET THE FAMILY SPECTACLED FLYING FOXES of Halmahera Island More than 17,000 islands in the Indian and Pacific oceans make up the Republic of Indonesia The rainforests of one of these islands Halmahera Halmahera are home to the goliath coucal and the endangered chattering chattering lory These birds are found nowhere else on Earth In the island’s swamps green swallowtails feed on the nectar of guava blossoms while flightless invisible rails pluck insects from fallen fruit It is a late October evening and a pleasant 78 F 25 6 C The rainy season has come to an end and cooler air will be moving down from the north More than 150 feet 45 7 m above the forest floor about 20 spectacled flying foxes hang from the branches of a tree known locally locally as damar mesegar One of the bats begins to stir The moment she has been anticipating for six months has finally arrived She is about to give birth to a baby

Spotlight on Nature: Bat — page 2

Spotlight on Nature: Bat — page 3 — CLOSE-UP Dichromatic vision Some bats have color blindness but most have dichromatic vision This means they can see two of the three primary colors However bats can also see some ultraviolet ultraviolet colors not visible to humans

Spotlight on Nature: Bat — page 4 — 01 CHAPTER ONE life begins Found on every continent except Antarctica bats are the only mammals capable of flight More than 1,200 bat species are divided into two main groups microbats and megabats Most microbats eat insects insects consuming up to 1,000 per hour Some also eat frogs birds fish and lizards Microbats have small eyes and large ears because they rely on echolocation to maneuver during flight and capture prey Megabats Megabats have larger eyes and smaller ears They rely on sight and smell to find food Megabats eat fruit and flowers as well as powdery pollen and sugary nectar The climate in which bats live often determines their breeding season Babies called pups will be born when food is more abundant HALMAHERA ISLAND SPECTACLED FLYING FOX MILESTONES DAY 1 Born Black fur dark brown around eyes Weight 4 8 ounces 136 g Length 2 1 inches 5 3 cm 7

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