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EGYPTIAN FREE-TAILED BAT Tadarida aegyptiaca
Identification This is one of five species of free-tailed bat that occur
in the region, all of which are very similar. As their name implies, they
are characterized by a tail that is enclosed for only a third to half its
length in the tail membrane, with the remainder extending beyond the
edge of the membrane. The tail is always shorter than the tails of the
mouse-tailed bats. Also known as bulldog or mastiff bats, free-tailed
bats have short heads with heavy wrinkling on the upper lip. Their
coat colour varies from greyish-brown to dark brown on the back and
slightly paler underneath. The hair is short and very soft.
Size Wingspan 30 cm.
Habitat and Behaviour Free-tailed bats occupy a great variety of
habitats, and frequently roost in the roofs of buildings. The bats may
roost in small numbers, but sometimes do so in the hundreds tightly
packed together. The colonies give off a rubbery smell, especially on
hot and wet days. Free-tailed bats are one of the few types of bat
that scuttle around on the ground when moving within the roost and
occasionally when hunting. The authors have seen them snatching
up termites while poised at the edges of these insects’ emergence
burrows. Otherwise, they are high and fast fliers taking insects on
the wing.
Distribution and Status Free-tailed bats are known from Algeria to
Egypt, widely southwards, patchily around the edges of the Arabian
Peninsula and across southern Iran.