Meet the Mariah Carey of bats

This bat is a versatile chirper, going from whispers to intense screams

Bat
(Image credit: (CC BY: Charlotte Roemer))

In the dead of night, when it's dark enough that you or I might not be able to see our hands in front of our faces, some bats have no trouble tracking down a small, flitting insect and making a meal of it. Their secret? A biological sonar called echolocation.

By pushing air through their larynxes and out of their mouths or noses, echolocating bats generate ultrasonic "chirps." The echoes that bounce back to their ears give the bats the lay of the land and the sky, revealing obstacles and prey.

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