Some bats sing love songs.
Anyone who’s ever serenaded their sweetheart has more in common with bats than they might think. In 2009, researchers at the University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M studied the vocalizations of Tadarida brasiliensis — the Brazilian free-tailed bat, more commonly known as the Mexican free-tailed bat — and found the tunes to be surprisingly nuanced love songs. Though difficult for humans to hear, the songs consist of unique syllables that combine to form three types of “phrases”: chirps, buzzes, and trills. The males combine these phrases in different ways to attract females — and to warn other males to stay away.
What makes this especially remarkable is that, until recently, bats weren’t thought to communicate with one another in such a structured way. But when the researchers listened to recordings of two free-tailed colonies in Austin and College Station, Texas, they discovered that they “use the same ‘words’ in their love phrases,” according to lead researcher Kirsten Bohn. And we’re learning more about bat communication all the time — in August 2021, researchers found that baby bats “babble” much like human infants do, practicing syllables over and over until they learn to get it right.
Next time you’re near San Antonio, make sure to visit Bracken Cave. The nature preserve run by Bat Conservation International (BCI) is home to more than 20 million Mexican free-taileds in the summer, making it the largest bat colony in the world. Though often portrayed as sinister in pop culture, these creatures of the night play a crucial role in their ecosystem by consuming more than 100 tons of corn earworm moths and other pests every summer night. The cave is a popular place to visit on warm summer evenings, when the bats take flight in a stunning display with the potential to convert any chiroptophobes in attendance.
