“It’s Halloween every day with this week’s #baturday: the Painted bat (Kerivoula picta)! And yes, these colours are real!
This species is found in small populations across South and South-East Asia in Bangladesh, Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam.
They are naturally orange and black, with some individuals being orangey-red (scarlet) and black. Older males are often more brightly coloured to make them more attractive when competing with other males for females.
You’d think because of their bright colouration they would be easily spotted by predators, but the pattern of these colours is a form of camouflage that blends in with dried leaves and tropical flowers. They are uncommon, and inhabit the drier, hotter arid woodland habitats in these tropical countries. They have been found under banana tree leaves, in abandoned weaver birds’ nests, or under the eaves of huts in villages. Unlike most bats that are either completely solitary or are found in large groups, they usually roost in pairs. (Aww!) Like many other insect-eating bats, painted bats echolocate to detect and catch its prey. It is also an aerial hawker – it catches insects midair, often by using their tail membranes as a net to catch the insects, and then flicking them upward into their face!”