December 11, 2006

Bats navigate using the Earth's Magnetic Field - Many animals, such as homing pigeons & other birds such as even the humble Chook, newts (a newt?), trout & turtles use magnetic fields for orientation. Now we know (at least some) bats do, too.

Homing pigeons, being somewhat hip, also follow roads and highways, showing that animal adaptation is swift - we've only been building roads for maybe five thousand years or some such. This is probably a variant on the use of natural landmarks. I think there's something in that for all of us, don't you? ;)

posted by Chyren 18 years ago
  • to quote david letterman from many years ago: "Them bats is smart; they use radar."
  • we dearly love a batch o' bats and put out all the welcome mats we open all our windows wide so the flittermice can fly inside
  • I was going to comment on the name "big brown bats," and how it was the opposite of inventive. But "flittermice?" That's just brilliant.
  • From the old german fledermaus.
  • I quite like bats.
  • I can hear them squeak, so my hearing must be still pretty good.
  • the eeking! I like to see them veering past the parking lot light as they swoop and sweep away stray insects out at night the insects never learn to stay away while the bats in columns churn in and out of darkness then at dawn adjourn to hang asleep all day
  • so the flittermice can fly inside flittermi- is that like the opera, Der Fl- "From the old german fledermaus." OOoooohhhh! The bat! Ohhh right! flitter mouse! That's awesome! *sound of knowledge gap filling* I love it when a plan comes together! *chews on cigar*
  • Pogo: bats 'n' Aussies!
  • I was very fond of a "nest" of bats that lived underneath a windowsill of my bedroom. One day, I heard shrieks of fright outside. I looked out the window and saw a small crowd of people gawking and pointing at the foot of my building. At the base, I could just make out the image of a bat. I ran outside quickly, and found Mamma bat protecting her newborn (I don't know if the babies fell out, or if Mamma bat gave birth outside on the ground - - which would be very odd). Talk about SQUEE!! They were so bloody cute. I shooed off the noisy offenders and put up a barrier of sorts. I think Mamma bat gave me a quick wink. I found the squeeks of the bats to be quite calming while falling asleep in my bed
  • As I recall, the Bowery bats were named Bewitched, Bothered, and Bemildred, tick. /bee-knighted
  • I loves fuzzy bats. When I lived in Maine, my mom called me up twice to come over and remove a bat from her house. I used a mixing bowl to trap the bat, then slid a piece of plywood under it to get him out. He went flappa-flappa-flappa inside the bowl. I thought it was funny, mom did not.
  • When I was in the Air Force, I would have killed for flappa-flappa-flappa! /Little_Vicki Apologies for the Simpsons' quotes. It's an amazing disorder i harbor.
  • flittermice :-) I wonder what, if any, effect our ever-increasing production of electromagnetic radiation (radio, Radar, microwave etc.) has on critters who use magnetic fields for navigation.
  • *wonders what is so magnetic about her bookshelf that the turtles keep swimming into the side of the tank towards it*
  • They obviously want to read. Why must you insist on denying them an education??
  • Illiterturtlist!
  • The bat with the incredibly long tongue. A rare South American bat turns out to have a spectacularly long tongue. At up to 150% the length of its body, it is proportionally the longest of any mammal. The [type of nectar bat] appears to have evolved its incredible tongue in order to feed exclusively from a tubular flower found in the "cloud forests" of Ecuador.
  • *wonders where it stows all that tongue when it isn't drinking*
  • Coiled up in its sternum next to its heart, apparently.
  • MonkeyFilter: coiled up in your sternum, next to your heart.
  • *adds to A_C's tip jar*
  • Just as I suspected: you're all a bit batty here. Move over and pass the fruit necter, please.
  • That's batshit insane - they should sell it.