A nest box, also spelled nestbox, is a man-made enclosure provided for animals to nest in. Nest boxes are most frequently utilized for birds, in which case they are also called birdhouses or a birdbox/bird box, but some mammalian species such as bats may also use them. Placing nestboxes or roosting boxes may also be used to help maintain populations of particular species in an area. The modern nest box was invented by the British conservationist Charles Waterton in the early 19th century to encourage more birdlife and wildfowl on the nature reserve he set up on his estate.
The desert red bat, also known as the western red bat or southern red bat is a species of microbat found across the Americas. Lasiurus blossevillii is most often found in tree foliage, as are most species in the genus Lasiurus, and is a solitary species.
The common vampire bat is a small, leaf-nosed bat native to Latin America. It is one of three extant species of vampire bat, the other two being the hairy-legged and the white-winged vampire bats. The common vampire bat practices hematophagy, mainly feeding on the blood of livestock. The bat usually approaches its prey at night while they are sleeping. It then uses its razor-sharp teeth to cut open the skin of its hosts and lap up their blood with its long tongue.
Nycteribiidae is a family of the true fly superfamily Hippoboscoidea are known as "bat flies", together with their close relatives the Streblidae. As the latter do not seem to be a monophyletic group, it is conceivable not to unite all bat flies in a single family.
The family Mormotomyiidae contains only one known species, Mormotomyia hirsuta, commonly known as the frightful hairy fly or terrible hairy fly, which is found in Kenya. The fly was first described by English entomologist Ernest Edward Austen, and specimens have been collected from one location on a mountain in the Ukasi Hill, in a cleft where a bat roost is located; this may possibly be the most restricted geographic distribution for any fly family. The larvae have been collected from bat guano. Adult flies are believed to feed on bodily secretions of bats. The fly measures about 1 cm long, with hairy legs, and, due to its nonfunctional wings and tiny eyes, looks more like a spider than a fly. Specimens have been collected only three times, in 1933, 1948, and 2010. Tested members of the population showed higher levels of genetic variation than would be expected for such a restricted range, suggesting that additional undiscovered populations exist with gene flow occurring between them and the known population in Ukasi Hill.
The greater noctule bat is a rare carnivorous bat found in Europe, West Asia, and North Africa. It is the largest and least studied bat in Europe with a wingspan of up to 46 centimetres (18 in) and is one of the few bat species to feed on passerine birds. Greater noctule bats are the only bat species to hunt birds on the wing rather than when roosting. The greater noctule bat has wings adapted for open-air hunting and uses echolocation frequencies above the hearing range of birds.
The New Zealand long-tailed bat, also known as the long-tailed wattled bat or pekapeka-tou-roa (Māori), is one of 15 species of bats in the genus Chalinolobus variously known as "pied bats", "wattled bats" or "long-tailed bats". It is one of the two surviving bat species endemic to New Zealand, but is closely related to five other wattled or lobe-lipped bats in Australia and elsewhere. It was named the winner in the 2021 Bird of the Year competition in New Zealand, despite not being a bird.
The Australian sawtail catshark is a common species of catshark, and part of the family Scyliorhinidae, endemic to southern Australian waters. It is found on or near the bottom of the outer continental shelf and upper continental slope, at depths of 85 to 823 m. This slim-bodied species is characterized by crests of enlarged dermal denticles along both the dorsal and ventral edges of its caudal fin and caudal peduncle, along with a color pattern of broad, dark saddles outlined in white. It can grow to 61 cm (24 in) in length. The Australian sawtail catshark feeds mainly on fishes, crustaceans, and cephalopods. Females are oviparous and lay eggs enclosed by capsules. This species is often caught incidentally by commercial bottom trawl fisheries, but is not significantly threatened by fishing activity. Thus, it has been assessed as of Least Concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
The Hawaiian hoary bat, also known as ʻōpeʻapeʻa, is a species of bat endemic to the islands of Hawaiʻi. Whereas the mainland hoary bat is found throughout North America, the Hawaiian hoary bat is distributed only among the major volcanic islands of Hawaiʻi, making it the only extant and native terrestrial mammal in the state. The Hawaiian hoary bat was officially named the state land mammal of Hawaiʻi in 2015. It is a federally listed endangered taxon of the United States.
Dormer's bat or Dormer's pipistrelle is a species of vesper bat. It is monotypical for its genus.
The lesser bamboo bat or lesser flat-headed bat is one of the smallest species of vesper bat, and is native to Southeast Asia.
Townsend's big-eared bat is a species of vesper bat.
The dark-brown serotine is a species of vesper bat found in Central and West Africa.
White-nose syndrome (WNS) is a fungal disease in North American bats which has resulted in the dramatic decrease of the bat population in the United States and Canada, reportedly killing millions as of 2018. The condition is named for a distinctive fungal growth around the muzzles and on the wings of hibernating bats. It was first identified from a February 2006 photo taken in a cave located in Schoharie County, New York. The syndrome has rapidly spread since then, however. In early 2018, it was identified in 33 U.S. states and seven Canadian provinces; plus the fungus, albeit sans syndrome, had been found in three additional states. Most cases are in the eastern half of both countries, but in March 2016, it was confirmed in a little brown bat in Washington state. In 2019, evidence of the fungus was detected in California for the first time, although no affected bats were found.
Basilia is a genus of bat flies in the family Nycteribiidae.
Campiglossa is a genus of fruit flies in the family Tephritidae. There are at least 190 described species in Campiglossa.
Basilia fletcheri is parasitic bat fly in the genus Basilia, in the subgenus Basilia. It is found in India.
Sepedomerus macropus, the liverfluke snail predator fly, is a species of marsh fly native to the American tropics and subtropics. Larvae of this species are predators of lymnaeid pond snails, which are vectors of the liver fluke Fasciola gigantica. S. macropus has been introduced to tropical regions outside the Americas for the purpose of reducing numbers of lymnaeid snails as a public health measure. In Hawaii, introduced S. macropus have become a threat to the survival of native lymnaeid snail species, including the endangered Newcomb's snail.
The Khasian leaf-nosed bat is a species of bat in the family Hipposideridae. It is endemic to Meghalaya, India. It is a cave-dwelling bat.
