Chalinolobus gouldii

1 Gould's Wattled Bat at Michelago, NSW

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Identification history

Chalinolobus gouldii	22 Apr 2019	MPennay
Chalinolobus gouldii	22 Apr 2019	Caroline.Hennessy
Unidentified	22 Apr 2019	Illilanga

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User's notes

Private property. No public access without permission. Sorry for the poor quality photos but it was at dusk. The bats were hunting over our large dam/wetland area and flying quite fast. The bats were about the size of a Welcome Swallow and I could hear their echolocation sounds when they flew over me.

11 comments

MatthewFrawley wrote:

22 Apr 2019

Seeing lots of small bats flying at dusk in suburban Canberra at the moment. Generally see them a lot at this time of year.

Caroline.Hennessy wrote:

22 Apr 2019

Oh! Their big boofy hair from their chest, over their head and to their shoulders makes me think they're Gould's Wattled Bats. Especially because their wings are also the right shape, plus enclosed tail. However, with every microbat, a clearers photo with weights and measurements would be needed to confirm :-)
Also, much too dark to be C.morio.

MPennay wrote:

22 Apr 2019

Goulds wattled bat is most likely, looking at the photos, although their call is generally not audible. They also are often the first species to emerge. As the nights get cooler in autumn it's not uncommon to see bats active before fully dark. The white striped mastiff bat is large and has an audible call but it has a free tail (unlike the bat in the photos) perhaps it was also there.

Illilanga wrote:

23 Apr 2019

Thanks for the ID. I might try one evening again with my tripod to see if I can get clearer photos. The bats were definitely out while it was still light and I only heard them when they flew directly overhead, so it is possible there were multiple species. Love the boofy hair comment. Thanks goodness it's not a mullet. They were super fun to watch. ;)

MPennay wrote:

23 Apr 2019

If you can hear them right above you and quite close, and it sounds like a kind of clicking noise it may be this species. It's probably a phenomenon called 'ticklaut' it's not the actual sound the bat is emitting (this is around 29-33kHz so a fair bit above our peak earing range) but they call REALLY loud (eg >100 db) what you can hear is the changes in air pressure and even possibly mechanical sounds of the bats larynx and lips as it calls. The white striped mastiff bat calls very low for a bat 11-13kHz the actual call is audible to most people.. sounds like a metallic tink tink tink.

Illilanga wrote:

23 Apr 2019

Yes, it was more of a clicking noise. 100 dB is LOUD! Wow.

Caroline.Hennessy wrote:

23 Apr 2019

I have a few videos of them echolocating and while we cannot hear them (only the quiet tick/tap sounds of their throats) (I finally have a name for it! Thank you MPennay! Ticklaut), the volume is registered on my phone camera like someone is flicking or tapping the microphone.
Is there a way I could share the videos here?

ArcherCallaway wrote:

23 Apr 2019

Good work getting even these photos, they are super hard to get especially in the low light at the speed they move around. A question for the experts: Do microbats fly constantly at night or do they land a lot - and if they land where should we look? Sometimes I think one may have landed in a tree, but they are back out before I can locate them.

MPennay wrote:

24 Apr 2019

Good question RyuCallaway. Generally micro bats behave very differently than birds, they hardly ever get in amongst the branches or perch - they usually fly in the open spaces between and around trees and feed on the wing...perhaps a bit like Swifts. They often don't fly all night, and will return to roosts for a 'break' particularly as the weather cools down. Usually they'll fly back to a known 'night roost' to shelter, might be a tree hollow or crack or even under flaking bark - they'd be very hard to see. Some bats, especially the long eared bats sometimes hang from branches, building eaves and other things to feed, groom and have a breather. Long eared bats often hunt moths by passively listening so they can fly out and grab one if they hear it flutter by.

ArcherCallaway wrote:

24 Apr 2019

Thanks MPennay :)

Illilanga wrote:

24 Apr 2019

Great info! We managed to get some audio last night. See Unidentified on 24 Apr 2019

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