PREDATION AT AN URBAN FREE-TAILED BAT (TADARIDA BRASILIENSIS) COLONY BY NIGHT HERONS

Harris County, Texas, is home to both species of North American night herons, black-crowned (Nycticorax nycticorax) and yellow-crowned (Nycticorax violacea). Both species are carnivorous, consuming a wide variety of vertebrates and invertebrates, although records of either species consuming bats have not been reported. During studies at a local colony of free-tailed bats living under the Waugh Bridge (Houston, Texas), significant feeding behavior observations of both herons were made. Both species were recorded foraging on this urban bat population, utilizing different methods for acquiring the bats as prey. Some of the behaviors are novel as well and are also discussed.