UK Bat Species
There are 18 species of bat in the UK (17 of which are known to be breeding here).
They range from the tiny pipistrelle, weighing in at around 5g (less than a £1 coin!), to our biggest bat, the noctule - which is still smaller than the palm of your hand!
As bats are so vital to our natural environment were asking you to help us help them by hosting your very own Halloween party in aid of us. It need not be big and even the smallest amount raised for bats really does help us make a difference.
The bat sounds available on this page are from a heterodyne bat detector. More bat sounds are available in our Bat Sound Library, which is available to BCT Members and National Bat Monitoring Programme (NBMP) volunteers.
Alcathoe batMyotis alcathoe
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Listen to an Alcathoe bat (not yet available) Alcathoe factsheet (not yet available) |
BarbastelleBarbastella barbastellus
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A rare and distinctive bat with a pug-like face and large, wide ears. |
Bechstein's batMyotis bechsteinii
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One of our rarest bats, found in parts of southern England and |
Brandt's batMyotis brandtii
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Very similar to the whiskered bat, only being separated as |
Brown long-eared batPlecotus auritus
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Common pipistrellePipistrellus pipistrellus
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Daubenton's batMyotis daubentonii
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Greater horseshoe batRhinolophus ferrumequinum
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Grey long-eared batPlecotus austriacus
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Listen to a grey long-eared bat (not yet available) |
Leisler's batNyctalus leisleri
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Lesser horseshoe batRhinolophus hipposideros
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Nathusius' pipistrellePipistrellus nathusii
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A previous migrant species, it has only been classed as a resident species since 1997. |
Natterer's batMyotis nattereri
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Its broad wings enable it to fly slowly and prey on a wide variety of insects, even snatching spiders from their webs! |
NoctuleNyctalus noctula
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SerotineEptesicus serotinus
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Has broad wings and a leisurely flapping flight. |
Soprano pipistrellePipistrellus pygmaeus
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Similar to common pipistrelle but distinguished by its higher frequency echolocation call. |
Whiskered batMyotis mystacinus
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Slightly smaller than Brandt's bat but sharing the same shaggy fur. |
Vagrant species and occasional visitors
Greater mouse-eared batMyotis myotis
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Was officially declared extinct in 1990, but a solitary individual has been hibernating in southern England since 2002. Listen to a greater mouse-eared bat (not yet available) |
There are also a number of non-resident bat species that occasionally make apperances on our shores having blown over from the continent, notably Kuhl's pipistrelle and parti-coloured bat. Some facts on these vagarant species are detailed in the factsheet below:
Related downloads
Fact sheet on the different species of bat found in Scotland
