Field Guide
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Noctule
Nyctalus noctula
Not yet photographed by the community
Large bat that often emerges before dark; roosts in tree holes.
Species Profile
Amber List (species of conservation concern in the UK due to declining populations)
- Lifespan
- 12 years in the wild; up to 24 years in captivity
- Size & Weight
- 35–48 cm body length, wingspan 32–40 cm; 18–56 g (males larger than females)
- Habitat
- Woodland edges, parks, farmland and urban areas with mature trees; roosts in tree cavities, bat boxes and building crevices across lowland Britain.
- UK Distribution
- Found throughout England, Wales and southern Scotland; summer resident breeding April–September, with partial migration of some populations to continental Europe for winter.
- Diet
- Insectivorous, feeding on flying insects caught in aerial pursuit, primarily beetles, flies, mosquitoes and small moths.
- Prey
- Beetles (Coleoptera), dipterans (flies, gnats, mosquitoes), small moths and other aerial insects
- Predators
- Tawny owls, sparrowhawks, and occasionally domestic cats and stoats when roosting or grounded
- Mating Season
- August to September
- Breeding
- Single brood of 1–4 young (typically 2), gestation approximately 12 weeks; pups born May–July and fledged by August.
- Behaviour
- Highly social, commuting up to 50 km to feeding grounds and roosting in large maternity colonies of up to 1,000 individuals. Males are territorial and emit loud, distinctive ultrasonic calls audible to some humans. They emerge early in the evening to hunt, often over open water and farmland.
- •The noctule is Britain's largest bat species and one of the most powerful fliers, capable of flying at speeds up to 50 km/h
- •They can be heard echolocating at frequencies of 10–25 kHz, making some of their calls audible to the human ear as faint chattering
- •Noctules undergo autumn swarming behaviour around roosting sites, a mating congregation spectacle involving hundreds of bats
- •They are among the earliest bats to emerge in the evening and can be spotted hunting in daylight during late summer
- •Some populations migrate between summer breeding grounds in northern Europe and winter hibernation sites in southern regions, crossing the English Channel and North Sea
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