- 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.