Red Vessel is a representative of nocturnal predators, bats. In Latin, the name of the species sounds like Nyctalus noctula. This is the most common representative of bats. But where can it be found and how can an inexperienced observer recognize it? And what is a redhead evening party?
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Red evening bat (Nyctalus noctula) is essentially no different from other types of bats. But knowing its external morphology, one can easily distinguish this representative from other species.
The color of the fur of the red evening bat and the length of its body are slightly different from other bats. From head to tail, it reaches 8 cm, which is a serious indicator for these animals. The tail itself has a length of 4 to 5 cm. The color of the fur is red, which is reflected in the name of the species. The weight of one animal can reach from 18 to 40 g.
It is easy to recognize the red evening owl at the time of flight, because one of its identifying features are the wings. They have an oblong narrowed shape, sharpened at the ends. Such wings give the mouse a light, but at the same timestrong flight. The animal briskly makes instant turns and, if necessary, quickly rushes down.
There are 2 short ears on the head of the red evening, which barely rise above the fur. They are thick, gathered in the form of folds and spaced from each other at a distance equal to the width of the head.
Distribution locations
Red Vespers is an animal that feels at ease in Ukrainian forests and forest-steppes. But the animal spends the main part of its life in the forest, and it enters the steppe zone only for a short time, during seasonal flights (in autumn and spring). It is found on the territory of Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, in various parts of Central Asia, in China and African countries.
In winter, the forests of Russia and Ukraine are very poor (in gastronomic terms) for a bat. Therefore, the animal leaves its "familiar" place and goes on a journey until spring. Vespers wintering takes place in warm countries: Bulgaria, Greece.
The animal carries out its flight at the end of August. But its duration takes a long time, so some representatives of this species can be seen in the Ukrainian steppes even in the first winter month.
Those representatives of the red vespers who did not manage to fly south in time, gather with the rest of the same individuals in flocks in the Transcarpathia region and fall into a long hibernation until March - early April.
With the onset of spring warmth, the habitats of the red evening are again filled with these animals. For life they preferdeciduous and mixed forests or old parks full of hollow trees.
Also, the attics of houses and abandoned premises are a place of accumulation of mice, where they, uniting in flocks, wait for the night to come.
Behavior in nature
Bats are activated in the evening. All day, from dawn until almost dusk, they spend in tree holes, sometimes in the attics of houses, where they unite in flocks of 100 individuals.
Hollows, in which vespers live for a long time, outside along the edges lose color, become lightened due to mouse feces. At the same time, an unpleasant odor spreads. There is also a large accumulation of flies. An experienced observer will immediately notice a bat's refuge by these signs.
The vespers hunt and feed at night. Insects are caught in flight. For them, this is not difficult, because the mice perfectly control their bodies during the flight. They are even able to fly neatly into hollows and crevices at high speed and instantly fix their paws on the ceilings. Their light weight and strong wings allow them to precisely maneuver in flight.
Intraspecific communication is carried out through voice. Each individual of the evening party is endowed with an individual voice. Moreover, mice can emit ultrasound, which is susceptible only to such representatives, as well as the usual squeak, which is available to the human ear.
The high-frequency sounds emitted by animals are able to be reflected from any surfaces encountered in the path of the evening. It's not onlyan excellent communication tool, understandable only to bats, but also a way to unhindered orientation in complete darkness.
Hunting methods
It is noteworthy that vespers hunt in two stages:
- The first stage takes place before sunset. The animals fly out of their shelters, but do not leave his field of vision. Having had their fill, they return to rest.
- The second time the evening flies out to hunt in the dead of night, when the hour of dawn is near.
The Vespers begins to pursue the prey seen, and as soon as it reaches it, it grabs it with the help of a curved tail and membranes located between the tail and hind limbs. The mouse begins to eat the caught beetle right in the air. Vespers can catch up to 30 such beetles in one sortie.
Gastronomic preferences
The appearance of the vespers indicates that the animal is a predator and does not tolerate plant foods in its diet.
And indeed, the bat loves to feast on insects: bears, beetles, ground beetles, various butterflies, flies and bloodsuckers.
Veschernitsa is a night hunter. She goes to her fishing in the late afternoon, when the sun has not yet left the sky. The hunt continues until dawn. In search of food, the bat does not fly long distances from its daytime shelters.
Reproductive process
Evening is a viviparous mammal. They do not prepare in any way for the appearance of offspring, that is, they do not equip nests and places forbabies.
As soon as spring comes, at night the males of evening besiege the hollows where the females live, and emit a characteristic call. During this period, couples are formed. Representatives of the species reach full maturity at the following age: males - at 2 years old, females - at 2-3 years old.
The process of bearing cubs is 70 days (2.5 months). Born babies do not yet have a coat, and vision is completely absent. This will change over time.
The first days, when the cubs are still completely dependent, they are held on the mother's body, accompanying her everywhere. However, very soon their body is covered with soft fluff, and their eyesight is normalized, and little evenings live next to their mother only during daytime rest. On the 20th day after their birth, the animals leave their shelter on their own and learn to hunt.
As for the male evenings, they absolutely do not take part in the birth, life and protection of their offspring. From the moment the female is pregnant, they keep to themselves and even choose other places to spend the night.
Reasons leading to species reduction
The red-haired evening party is not deprived of enemies either. She is a link in the food chain and is food for owls and owls, as well as hawks. Owls intercept bats in the steppes when the animals are in a state of flight.
Man is also able to influence the numerical reduction of bats. The fact is that the cutting down of forest trees and, as a result, the destruction of the habitat of the evening tree leads either to death.animals, or to their relocation to other places.
This is interesting
- Red Vespers is a very useful representative of the animal world for the inhabitants of Ukraine. The thing is that she eats insect pests, such as May beetles. She can eat 20 bugs in one meal.
- A female vesper gives birth to two cubs at a time.
- During hibernation, the brain of mice also "hibernates", so the spinal and medulla oblongata control the vital activity of the body of the evening.
- After waking up, all previously developed conditioned reflexes are "forgotten".
- Maximum age party girls can reach is 12 years old.
Conclusion
Redhead Vesper is a simple but amazing animal that resembles both birds and rodents.
Ukrainians value and protect these animals, as they help in the fight against harmful animals.
If you want to watch these representatives of the Ukrainian fauna (red vespers), you should visit the forests in the evening, when the animals leave their shelters and go hunting.
