Foraging behaviour and habitat use by the European free-tailed bat Tadarida teniotis

Autumnal foraging behaviour and habitat use by Tadarida teniotis were studied in Southern Portugal, using seventeen radio-marked individuals, followed over multiple nights from fixed and mobile stations. Tadarida teniotis proved to be a late emerger, leaving the roost about one hour after sunset and, in contrast to most insectivorous bat species, only had one foraging bout. These bouts were very long, lasting an average of 6 hours and 39 minutes. Bout duration was unrelated to climatic conditions and so probably determined by foraging success. In the early evening almost all bats were foraging, but this activity declined steadily through the night. They kept flying even during fairly cold nights, but did not leave the roost on the coldest nights, in which they probably remained in torpor. As predicted by its body mass and wing morphology, T teniotis was found to be a strong flyer, reaching speeds of over 50 km/h, and flying for up to 10 hours without resting periods. The observed speeds were 2.5 times higher than the predicted maximum range speed, which may be possible due to peculiar adaptations to high-speed flight. On most nights bats flew straight to a previously identified feeding site, but on a few they made slower indirect flights, suggesting a search for profitable foraging areas. Upon arriving to a feeding site most bats remained there for the rest of the foraging trip. The median size of these sites was just over 100 ha. Several tracked bats used the same feeding area simultaneously. The range of the colony had a radius of over 30 kin, but most feeding sites were concentrated in a mountainous region located about 5 kin north of the roost. The studied bats foraged preferentially over forested areas, particularly pine and cork oak woodlands. They used both alluvial plains and the valleys of a mountainous area, but not its ridges. Our observations support the hypothesis that T teniotis is an opportunistic forager, depending on temporary concentrations of prey, such as insect swarms.