Types of Bats

Bats are the only mammals that truly fly, and they are quietly essential, eating close to their body weight in insects every night and pollinating plants around the world. North America’s bats are almost all small insect-eaters, now battling a devastating fungal disease called white-nose syndrome. Here are the bats in the Huck field guide.

81 bats in the Huck field guide. Tap any one for identification, habitat, diet, and a live sightings map.

Big Brown Bat

Eptesicus fuscus

Brazilian Free-tailed Bat

Tadarida brasiliensis

Broad-eared Free-tailed Bat

Nyctinomops laticaudatus

Canyon Bat

Parastrellus hesperus

Common tent-making Bat

Greater Sac-winged Bat

Saccopteryx bilineata

Lasionycteris noctivagans

Allen's Big-eared Bat

Idionycteris phyllotis

Aztec Fruit-eating Bat

Black-winged Little Yellow Bat

Rhogeessa tumida

California Leaf-nosed Bat

Macrotus californicus

Common Big-eared Bat

Micronycteris megalotis

Eastern Small-footed Bat

Perimyotis subflavus

Great Fruit-eating Bat

Artibeus lituratus

Greater Spear-nosed Bat

Phyllostomus hastatus

Jamaican Fruit-eating Bat

Artibeus jamaicensis

Lesser Sac-winged Bat

Saccopteryx leptura

Merriam's Long-tongued Bat

Glossophaga mutica

Mesoamerican Common Mustached Bat

Pteronotus mesoamericanus

Pallas's Long-tongued Bat

Glossophaga soricina

Pygmy Fruit-eating Bat

Dermanura phaeotis

Rafinesque's Big-eared Bat

Corynorhinus rafinesquii

Seba's Short-tailed Bat

Carollia perspicillata

Thomas's Naked-backed Bat

Pteronotus fulvus

Townsend's Big-eared Bat

Corynorhinus townsendii

Velvety Free-tailed Bat

Lasiurus blossevillii

Davy's Naked-backed Bat

Mormoops megalophylla

Gray Sac-winged Bat

Balantiopteryx plicata

Greater Bulldog Bat

Noctilio leporinus

Greater Round-eared Bat

Tonatia bidens

Heller's Broad-nosed Bat

Platyrrhinus helleri

Honduras Yellow-shouldered Bat

Sturnira hondurensis

Indiana Bat

Myotis sodalis

Lesser Long-nosed Bat

Leptonycteris yerbabuenae

Mexican Big-eared Bat

Corynorhinus mexicanus

Mexican Greater Funnel-eared Bat

Natalus mexicanus

Mexican Long-tongued Bat

Choeronycteris mexicana

Northern Long-eared Bat

Myotis septentrionalis

Northern Yellow-shouldered Bat

Sturnira parvidens

Parnell's Mustached Bat

Pteronotus parnellii

Peters's Woolly False Vampire Bat

Chrotopterus auritus

Shaw's Mastiff Bat

Eumops auripendulus

Sowell’s Short-tailed Bat

Carollia sowelli

Thomas's Fruit-eating Bat

Dermanura watsoni

Underwood's Mastiff Bat

Eumops underwoodi

Waterhouse's Leaf-nosed Bat

Macrotus waterhousii

Wrinkle-faced Bat

Centurio senex

Bicolored Roundleaf Bat

European Free-tailed Bat

Tadarida teniotis

Hairy-legged Vampire Bat

Diphylla ecaudata

Little Yellow-eared Bat

Spix's Disk-winged Bat

Thyroptera tricolor

Stripe-headed Round-eared Bat

Tonatia saurophila

Not sure which bat you found?

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Common questions

Are bats blind?

No. Bats see fine, and many also navigate and hunt in the dark using echolocation, bouncing high-pitched calls off their surroundings. "Blind as a bat" is a myth.

Do bats in North America drink blood?

No. All three vampire bat species live in Latin America. Every bat in the US and Canada eats insects, fruit, or nectar. The local ones on a summer evening are catching mosquitoes and moths.

More types

Types of Owls Types of Oak Trees Types of Hawks Types of Woodpeckers Types of Sparrows Types of Warblers Types of Ducks Types of Herons Types of Hummingbirds Types of Wrens Types of Maple Trees Types of Pine Trees Types of Ferns Types of Lilies Types of Orchids Types of Milkweeds Types of Turtles Types of Snakes Types of Frogs Types of Salamanders Types of Lizards Types of Squirrels Types of Whales Types of Foxes Types of Bees Types of Beetles Types of Moths Types of Spiders Types of Swallowtail Butterflies