- Lifespan
- 4–5 years in the wild, exceptionally up to 16 years
- Size & Weight
- 3.2–4.5 cm body length, wingspan 19–22 cm; 3–8 g
- Habitat
- Found in a wide variety of habitats including woodlands, hedgerows, parks, gardens, and buildings, typically near water sources.
- UK Distribution
- Widespread and common throughout the UK, including Scotland and Wales; resident year-round with some seasonal movement.
- Diet
- Exclusively insectivorous, feeding primarily on small flying insects such as midges, mosquitoes, and other dipterans.
- Prey
- Small flying insects including Diptera (midges and gnats), small moths, and mayflies
- Predators
- Tawny owls, sparrowhawks, hobby falcons, and occasionally domestic cats
- Mating Season
- July to August, with sperm storage allowing females to conceive the following spring
- Breeding
- Single litter of 1–2 pups (occasionally up to 4) born May–June after gestation of approximately 6 weeks; young fledge at 3–4 weeks old
- Behaviour
- Highly social and often roosts communally in buildings, trees, and bat boxes. Highly agile fliers that emerge at dusk to feed, consuming up to half their body weight in insects nightly. Males are territorial and produce ultrasonic calls to attract females and maintain roosts.