Greater Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus ferrumequinum)

Greater Horseshoe Bat

Mammal

The Greater Horseshoe Bat shouts through its nose — focused by a strange horseshoe-shaped flap of skin — and roosts hanging free, completely wrapped in its own wings like a tiny cloaked figure. One of Britain's largest and rarest bats, it is found only in the south-west.

💡 Fun Facts

The Greater Horseshoe Bat shouts through its nose, not its mouth. An elaborate horseshoe-shaped flap of skin around its nostrils focuses its calls into a beam, and it can even pick out the fluttering wingbeats of an insect in the dark.
At rest it hangs completely wrapped in its own wings, like a tiny figure in a cloak — quite unlike other bats, which tuck themselves into cracks and crevices.
It is one of Britain's largest and longest-lived bats, recorded at nearly 30 years old. Once widespread, it suffered a decline of more than 90%, and now lives only in the south-west. Its recovery depends on cattle-grazed fields, because its favourite dung beetles need the animals' dung.

🔍 How to spot it

Size: The largest bat here — wingspan up to 40 cm and weighing up to about 34 g; a plum-sized body.
Markings: Soft, fluffy grey-brown fur, paler below; young ones are greyer.
Features: The unmistakable horseshoe-shaped flap around its nose (the 'nose-leaf'); broad, rounded wings.
Behaviour: Hangs completely wrapped in its wings like a tiny cloaked figure; flies slow and low along hedges, and often perch-hunts — waiting on a branch to dart out at insects — all while shouting through its nose.
Where & when: Only in SW England and south Wales; roosts in caves, mines and large old buildings over insect-rich, cattle-grazed countryside.
Easily confused with: The lesser horseshoe bat shares the same nose-leaf and cloak-wrapped roosting pose, but is much smaller — plum versus walnut — and calls at a much higher pitch, so size tells them apart.

📅 Through the Year

Hibernation:October to April
Active:April to October
Maternity/Breeding:June to July

🕸️ Food Web

CarnivoreClick to explore how the Greater Horseshoe Bat fits into the ecosystem!

Explore in Food Web

Name Story

Rhinolophus ferrumequinum

means “the iron-horseshoe nose-crest”

What does its name mean?

Rhinolophus — nose-crestGreek rhis / rhinos ‘nose’ + lophos ‘crest’
ferrumequinum — horseshoe (iron of a horse)Latin ferrum ‘iron’ + equinum ‘of a horse’

This bat wears a fold of skin shaped exactly like a horseshoe around its nose. It isn’t just for show — the bat beams its squeaks out through that horseshoe to find insects in the pitch dark.

🎴 Field Research Data Cards

Picture

Units