Bats, not birds

I hadn't really thought about bats since we moved from Seattle. There we installed a bat house on our home. We have also installed one here in Arocutin, and it is being used as evidenced by the bat poop beneath.

While birding recently, Hugo and I stopped at one of our favorite spots - the Santa Juana road. At this location, we've often been thrilled by Mountain trogons, Red warblers, Hairy woodpeckers, Mexican jays, and Gray-barred wrens. This time we were met by destruction: numerous trees had been removed, probably by illegal timber harvesters. This assessment according to our local forestry advocate, Jose Luis.

Among the debris, we spotted a lonely bat hanging on the remains of a small branch - a Hoary bat. Lasiurus cinerus. In Spanish, it is known as Murcielago nevado.

Murcielago. Murcielago. For me a difficult word to pronounce. Nonetheless, it is a good word to know, and it is good to know about these creatures.

According to a poster I saw recently at the Rosenthal's furniture facture (http://www.mfa.eronga.com/), the following bats are found in Mexico, in addition to the Hoary bat:

Lasiurus cinerus - Lesser long-nosed bat:

Leptonycteris curasoae - Hairy-legged vampire

Diphylla ecaudata - Ghost-faced bat

Mormoops megalophylla - Funnel-eared bat

Natalus stramineus - Free-tailed bat:

Tadarida brasiliensis - Great false vampire bat

Vampyrum spectrum - Sharp-nosed or Long-nosed bat:

Rhynchonycteris naso - Fringe-lipped bat

Trachops cirrhosus - Fishing bulldog bat

Tonatia evotis - Golden bat

Uroderma bilobatum - White-lined tentmaking bat

Corynorhinus townsendii - Townsend's big-eared bat:

Artibeus jamaicensis - Jamaican fruit bat

Sturnira lilium - Yellow-shouldered bat

Glassophaga soricina - American leaf-nosed bat

Antrozous pallidus - Pallid bat

Carollia perspicillata - Seba's short-tailed bat

Thyroptera tricolor - Spix's disk-winged bat