
They have wings with high aspect ratios (i.e., they are long and narrow), pointed wing tips, and high wing loading. Unlike other temperate migrants, these species do not hibernate.Īs is the case in birds, temperate zone long-distance migrant bats tend to differ morphologically from more sedentary species and are adapted for rapid, energetically efficient flight. With the possible exception of Lasiurus species, these taxa are also intracontinental migrants. nivalis, Choeronycteris mexicana, and Tadarida brasiliensis. In North America, long-distance migrants include species of Lasiurus, Lasionycteris noctivagans, and the subtropical/tropical seasonal migrants Leptonycteris curasoae, L. Although they migrate relatively long distances between summer and winter roosts, they do so within, rather than between, continents, unlike many European migratory birds which are intercontinental migrants. European long-distance migrants include several species of Nyctalus as well as two species of Pipistrellus and Vespertilio murinus. European regional migrants include several species of Myotis, and North American taxa include several species of Myotis and Pipistrellus (or Perimyotis) subflavus. Their North American counterparts include Eptesicus fuscus, Corynorhinus rafinesquii, and Antrozous pallidus. Examples of European sedentary taxa include species of Eptesicus, Plecotus, and Rhinolophus and certain species of Myotis.

Results of those studies indicate that temperate bats exhibit three broad patterns of spatial behavior: (i) sedentary (nonmigratory) behavior in which bats breed and hibernate within a 50-km radius or less (ii) regional migration in which bats migrate 100–500 km between summer and winter roosts and (iii) long-distance migrants in which bats migrate 1000 km or more between seasonal roosts.

Until recently, migration in bats had mostly been studied in temperate regions of North America and Europe where migratory behavior is closely associated with hibernation.

Fleming, in Encyclopedia of Animal Behavior, 2010 Temperate Bats
