ARTICLE-A-DAY All About Bats 7 Articles Check articles you have read: Bats: Mammals on the Wing 257 words Built for the Bat Lifestyle 170 words Seeing with Sound 148 words Furry Flyers 283 words Dinnertime for Bats 419 words Be a Friend to Bats 171 words Go Bat-Watching 163 words Page 1 of 12 ReadWorks.org 2018 ReadWorks, Inc. All rights reserved. Articles generously provided by National Audubon Society are included. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
SHOW_ NO_PA 2017 Bats: Mammals on the Wing Bats: Mammals on the Wing T his text and imag e are pro vided co urtesy o f the Natio nal Audubo n So ciety. The day is coming to an end. At the mouth of a large cave, there is a flurry of motion, as if the air we re stirre d by a puff of wind. And the n out of the cave pours a stre am of small, flutte ring cre ature s. To the people watching, they look like a great cloud of smoke. The cave's first waves of bats are flying up into the evening sky. The people watch in fascination as the bats swirl past the m. This cave is in Texas, and these are Mexican free-tailed bats. Bats of one kind or another have been stre aming out of daytime roosting place s like this for 50 million ye ars. These bats had spent the day asleep, hanging by their feet from the cave's walls. As the sun began to set, the bats became active and a few of them fluttered to the entrance. Now they are flying into the open. They keep coming wave after wave, minute after minute, 20 million in all. They form a dark cloud as they rise hundreds of feet above the ground. They will spread over the countryside for several miles in search of food. Tonight, like every night, the bats from this cave will e at a quarte r of a million pounds of moths and othe r inse cts. Bats used to crowd the sky all over America. The numbers of these interesting and useful animals are g re atly re duce d now. But as the lucky pe ople he re tonig ht know, millions still fly, snapping inse cts out of the darkne ss. Page 2 of 12 2017 National Audubon Society. All rights reserved. Used by Permission
Bats: Mammals on the Wing Page 3 of 12 2017 National Audubon Society. All rights reserved. Used by Permission
SHOW_ NO_PA 2017 Built for the Bat Lifestyle Built for the Bat Lifestyle T his text and imag e are pro vided co urtesy o f the Natio nal Audubo n So ciety. Bat Adaptations Our planet is home to nearly a thousand kinds of bats. Bats live on every continent except Antarctica! Bats are able to survive and thrive in so many different places because their bodies and be haviors have adapte d to those habitats. Built for the Bat Lifestyle A bat s body is made for flight. Powerful muscles inside the bat s fur-covered body flap the wings. The bones of a bat s arms and hands create a frame for its skin-covered wings. The thicker forearms and tiny thumbs make up the top of the wings, and the fingers create the wing tips. Bats legs are not adapted for standing, so bats hang upside down by their feet instead of perching like birds. The tail of most bats is attached to the legs by a flap of skin. Bats eyes enable them to see well. Their large ears help bats hear even faint sounds. Some bats have flaps or bumps of skin on their faces called nose leaves. Page 4 of 12
SHOW_ 2017 with Sound with Sound T his text and imag e are pro vided co urtesy o f the Natio nal Audubo n So ciety. NO_PASeeing Bats are nocturnal flyers. They maneuver between trees and buildings as they look for food and find roosts in the dark. How do the y do it? Most bats find the ir way at nig ht by e cholocation. Echolocation me ans locating some thing using e choe s. A bat shouts out a loud chirp. Luckily for us, the chirp is too high for human ears to hear, because bat chirps can be as loud as a smoke detector. The chirp sound travels through the air, and the bat begins to listen for any echoes. The chirp sound hits a flying moth, and an e cho bounce s back toward the bat. The bat he ars it with its se nsitive e ars. The moth s e cho te lls the bat how big it is, whe re it is, and how fast it s moving! A bat makes and listens for the echoes of ten or more chirps every second. Page 5 of 12
SHOW_ 2017 Flyers Flyers T his text and imag e are pro vided co urtesy o f the Natio nal Audubo n So ciety. NO_PAFurry Bats are the only mammals that can fly. Mammals are furry or hairy animals like cats, dogs, deer, mice and you! Mammals give birth to live young that drink their mothers' milk. Bats fly by flapping their smooth, skin-covered wings. Arm and finger bones make up the frame for the skin cove ring of a bat's wing s. A bat's hands are part of its wing s. Bats are nocturnal animals, which means they are active at night. They spend days sleeping while hanging upside down. Bats sleep, or roost, in caves, barns, and trees and under bridges or roofs. D id you know that the re are almost a thousand kinds of bats? Some bats are about the size of a bumblebee and weigh less than a penny. Others are as big as an owl with a six-foot wingspan. Some bat species dine on insects, others on fruit, pollen, or nectar, and some of them even feed on small frogs or fish. North America is home to about 40 kinds of bats, most of them insect-eaters the size of sparrows. A bat mother usually has one baby, called a kid. Bat kids cling to their mothers with their claws. When the mother leaves the roost at night to find food, she leaves her kid hanging at home! Be cause bats are out at nig ht and roost in hidde n place s, many pe ople don't notice the m. But lots of bats are out there, munching on beetles, mosquitoes, and moths. Because they are odd- looking and nocturnal, bats are unpopular and many people even fear them. But there's no reason to be afraid. Bats are shy by nature and most are harmle ss to humans. Page 6 of 12
SHOW_ 2017 for Bats for Bats T his text and imag es are pro vided co urtesy o f the Natio nal Audubo n So ciety. NO_PADinnertime Most North American bats are insect-eaters. But some bats only eat fruit or drink flower nectar. Others catch frogs or fish. Each bat species is adapted with tools physical features and behaviors to help with the job of getting food in a particular habitat. P allid bats eat scorpions This beige bat doesn t catch prey in the air. Instead it flies low while listening for bugs. When its huge ears hear shuffling cricket or beetle feet, this bat swoops down to nab its prey off the ground. The bat even hunts a certain critter known for its poisonous sting because the sting doesn t hurt the bat! Flying foxes eat fruit The world s largest bats are fruit-eaters. They have large eyes and a good sense of smell to help them find food even in the dark. While flying around snacking on fruit, they spread seeds that Page 7 of 12
Dinnertime for Bats sprout into new trees. Leaf-nosed bats eat flying insects Many bats have weird-looking folds and flaps of skin on their faces, called nose leaves. These bats use echolocation to find insects in the dark. The nose leaves focus the bat s chirping sounds, like cupping your hands around your mouth when you shout. Insect-eating bats help control bugs wherever they hunt. Vampire bats eat flying insects This small bat attacks prey as big as horses! While its prey is sleeping, the bat lands nearby. Creeping slowly on sturdy legs and thumbs, the bat approaches its prey. Then it uses its razor-like teeth to make a small cut. Chemicals in its spit keep the blood flowing as the bat laps up its meal. Bulldog bats eat fish Page 8 of 12
Dinnertime for Bats This bat flies over ponds and rivers in a zigzag pattern while making echolocation chirps toward the water below. Once it detects a ripple in the water, the bat uses its long back legs with sharp, curved claws to spear its prey. Any splashed water runs right off its oily fur. Long-nosed bats eat nectar This de se rt bat flie s around late at nig ht se arching for nig ht- blooming cactus flowe rs. Once it finds an open blossom, it shoves its long snout down into the flower and drinks the nectar inside. Its tongue is as long as its body! Pollen hitches a ride on the bat s head, pollinating the next flower it visits and helping to create seeds and new cacti. Page 9 of 12
SHOW_ 2017 NO_PABe a Friend to Bats a Friend to Bats T his text and imag es are pro vided co urtesy o f the Natio nal Audubo n So ciety. No matter where you live, it s likely that bat neighbors live nearby. Here are some ways you can help bats in your area: Put up a bat house. Not only will you be giving bats a place to roost and rest, they ll keep the mosquito population down for you. Avoid using pesticides. Bats can get sick from eating insects with chemical pesticides on them. G row a bat garden. Plant native nig ht- blooming flowe rs such as moonflowe r, cornflowe r, phlox, salvia, and common four- o clock to attract inse cts that bats pre y on. Do not disturb. Bats are shy and sensitive creatures, so don t bother bat roosts or enter bat caves. Disturbing endangered bats is illegal, too. Page 10 of 12
Be a Friend to Bats Let the bats out. If a bat gets trapped inside your house, give it an escape route by opening outside doors and windows. To keep bats from roosting in your attic, plug up any holes to the outside and put screens over vents and chimneys. Page 11 of 12
SHOW_ 2017 Go Bat-Watching T his text and imag e are pro vided co urtesy o f the Natio nal Audubo n So ciety. NO_PAGo Bat-Watching Want to see some wild bats for yourself? Go bat-watching with your family and some friends! Here are some hints and tips: Look for bats flying in the sky at dusk. This is the best time because it s not yet too dark for you to see, but dark enough for bats to leave their roosts. In the city, look for bats hunting around bug- attracting stre e t or playg round lig hts. To see a lot of bats, try going to a lake with woods on its edges. Stand so the water is between you and the sunset. The lake will reflect the sky and light up the bats. Go on a bat walk sponsored by a nearby park or nature center. The naturalists often carry bat de te ctors that translate bat e cholocation chirps into sounds humans can he ar. Never touch or pick up bats. Though it is rare, a few do carry diseases like rabies, and when threatened, some might bite. Page 12 of 12