Free-tailed bats | Molossidae

Bulldogvleermuizen | Murciélagos rabudos

The rear half of the tail projects free beyond the tail membrane — hence the name. The wings are the narrowest and most pointed of any bat and are folded away at rest under a leathery flap along the flank. That wing shape gives a very fast but scarcely manoeuvrable flight: they hunt high in the open air, above ridges, cliffs and lit towns, and not among vegetation. The call is matched to it — low in pitch, carrying far, and so low that a human can hear it as a hard ticking. The muzzle is broad and blunt with a wrinkled upper lip, the ears are thick, set forward and joined across the forehead, and the short strong legs carry bristles. They roost in rock clefts and building joints; to take off they first drop clear. Europe has one species, a large bat of southern cliffs.