Austin is home to around 10 different bat species — living in your very own backyard.
Most people know about the famous Mexican free-tailed bats at Congress Avenue Bridge — but Austin's skies are shared by nearly a dozen species, each with a unique personality, habitat, and role in our ecosystem.
The iconic bat of Central Texas — 1.5 million emerge from Congress Avenue Bridge each evening. Distinguished by their free-protruding tail, pug-like nose, and remarkably expressive ears.
Learn more →Wild spirits of the woods with brilliant reddish fur. Despite their bright coloring, they hide remarkably well in tree foliage — a secretive bat found in many Austin backyards.
Learn more →Small but vocal — evening bats will "complain at full volume while swallowing huge quantities of mealworms." Known for their spunky defensive behavior and colony loyalty.
Learn more →A tiny bat with three-toned fur and distinctive pink-orange forearms. Lightning-fast in flight, they roost in caves in winter and foliage in summer — sometimes in folded patio umbrellas.
Learn more →Stunning migratory bats that travel thousands of miles between Mexico and the northern U.S. Females carry twin pups on their annual journey through Central Texas.
Learn more →Don't be fooled by their plain appearance — cave myotis bats have charisma and charm galore. Notable for their long claws adapted to glean insects directly from water surfaces.
Learn more →Lightning-fast flyers whose flat wing profile resembles a soaring eagle. Long established in Austin's palm-tree neighborhoods, their pups learn to fly from palm roosts in mid-July.
Learn more →A palm-dwelling species whose range has been expanding northward through Texas. Smaller than its northern cousin, with a more delicate, sometimes olive-tinted appearance.
Learn more →Mahogany-colored with molasses-toned bodies and creamy epaulets. They roost in Spanish moss and pine trees, hanging by one foot with their tail wrapped around them like a pine cone.
Learn more →If you find an injured or grounded bat, call us right away. Do not handle with bare hands.
I Found a Bat →