Barbastelle
Barbastelle
Mammal
The Barbastelle is the ninja of Britain's bats — a whisper-quiet moth-hunter whose calls are so faint that its prey never hears it coming. Dark, frosted and pug-faced, it haunts ancient woodland, and is also one of our rarest and most secretive bats.
💡 Fun Facts
- The Barbastelle is a 'whispering' bat. Its hunting calls are up to a hundred times quieter than other bats' — a clever stealth trick, because the moths it hunts can actually hear a normal bat coming and dodge away. The Barbastelle simply tiptoes up on them in sound.
- It is one of the rarest mammals in all of Britain, with only a handful of known colonies — so rare and secretive that bat scientists get genuinely excited whenever they find one.
- You would know a Barbastelle by its squashed, pug-like face and its broad ears, which are joined right across the top of its head — above fur so dark it looks almost black, dusted with gold at the tips.
🔍 How to spot it
- Size
- Medium-small — wingspan about 27 cm, about the weight of a £1 coin.
- Markings
- Very dark, almost black fur with cream-gold frosted tips, giving a frosted look; a dark, pug-like face.
- Features
- Broad ears joined across the top of the head — its best clue — above a short, squashed 'pug' nose; no strange nose-flap like the horseshoe bats have.
- Behaviour
- Hunts along woodland edges and over the treetops with fast, fluttery, agile flight, using whisper-quiet calls to sneak up on moths.
- Where & when
- Rare — ancient and mature woodland and wooded river valleys in southern and central England and Wales; one of the hardest UK bats to find.
- Easily confused with
- No other UK bat has its combination of near-black frosted fur, pug face and broad ears joined across the forehead — that trio gives it away. The long-eared bats also have big ears, but theirs are separate, not joined.
📅 Through the Year
- Hibernation:November to March
- Active:April to October
- Maternity/Breeding:June to July
Name Story
Barbastella barbastellus
means “little star-beard”
What does its name mean?
- barba — beardLatin
- stella — starLatin
- -ellus — littleLatin (a 'small' ending)
Look closely at a barbastelle's face and you'll spot a tuft of stiff little hairs around its muzzle, sticking out like the points of a tiny star. That bristly beard is exactly what its name celebrates: the 'little star-beard' bat.
📄 Educational Handout Available
Download the printable infographic: Bat Life Cycle
📄 Educational Handout Available
Download the printable infographic: How Bats Hunt & Eat
📄 Educational Handout Available
Download the printable infographic: Where Bats Live