Feeding behaviour of captive brown long-eared bats, Plecotus auritus

This study examined the relative importance of gleaning and aerial prey capture in the feeding behaviour of captive long-eared bats, and the extent to which echolocation was used. Noctuid moths, which form an important part of the natural diet, were caught in free flight or gleaned from surfaces with equal frequency. Echolocation calls were produced in 89% of aerial prey capture attempts and in 29% of cases where prey was obtained by gleaning. Aerial captures were more successful when echolocation was used, but when gleaning, bats were more, successful when attempting captures without echolocation. Bats were attracted by the fluttering sounds of moths, and it is suggested that they locate prey on surfaces by passive listening.