Echolocation Call Characteristics of Eastern US Bats

uppr lwr slp total

species ƒc hi ƒ lo ƒ ƒmaxE dur special characteristics
slp slp @Fc slp

Longer calls (>5ms) typically

display a strong inflection
point at the knee,
45.7 79.5 41.8 48.2 7.2 11.5 2.0 2.4 4.8 pronounced downward tail
Myotis ending call, and an extended
grisescens 47 91 44 52 8.5 15 3.1 4.2 7.6
44 68 40 44 5.8 8.3 0.9 0.5 2.0 call body with broad
gray bat amplituded distribution.
41-51 53-107 37-46 41-85 2.4-10 3.6-29 0.5-12 0.0-13 1.3-20 Shorter calls (3-5 ms) are
typically at a higher frequency
than other geographically
overlapping Myotis.

FM sweep a smooth curve

(i.e., no inflection), beginning
steeply and then increasing in
Myotis leibii curvature*. May have a well
44.3 95.1 40.6 49.1 3.2 33.5 9.6 8.9 16.9 defined downward tail. Peak
eastern power of call typically
46 104 42 52 3.9 40 12 12 22
5 small– 42 86 39 46 2.5 27 7.0 5.5 12 persists for at least 1 ms on
0 footed non–saturated calls. Forage
myotis 38-48 55-115 31-44 40-71 1.7-5.3 6.9-48 2.5-22 0.0-28 4.6-36 close to ground or vegetation.
*some calls may have an
inflection, but the smoothly
curved variant is diagnostic.
t
o Myotis FM sweep a smooth curve
austro- 43.6 84.3 39.6 46.4 4.6 17.6 6.1 6.6 9.7 (usually no inflection),
riparius beginning steeply and then
45 95 41 48 5.5 22 8.6 11 15 increasing in curvature*. May
south- 42 73 38 44 3.8 13 3.6 2.2 4.7 have a well defined downward
4 eastern 38-48 66-116 31-44 42-65 2.0-6.2 5.9-31 1.8-14 0.0-22 4.0-26
tail. Peak power of call
myotis typically persists for at least
0 1 ms on non–saturated calls.

Myotis Calls may have up to 100 kHz

M septen- 43.2 104 37.0 51.3 3.9 24.2 11.7 13.1 18.6 of bandwidth. FM sweep may
trionalis be nearly linear making ƒc
y 47 114 42 62 4.6 30 16 18 24
difficult to recognize. Quiet but
40 95 32 41 3.1 18 7.4 8.0 14
o northern consistent calls. Fly near
t long-eared 32-53 60-12 25-50 37-95 1.7-6.6 8.5-55 3.0-36 0.0-37 6.5-43 vegetation, often with a linear
myotis flight path when searching.
i
s Distinctive longer call type (>4.5
ms) may have a secondary
inflection leading into a
40.8 80.9 37.5 44.0 5.8 16.8 4.6 2.6 7.1 “ledge” or flat section <1.3
Myotis ms just prior to terminal sweep
sodalis 42 90 40 47 6.6 21 5.8 4.6 9.2
39 72 35 41 5.0 13 3.3 0.5 5.1 or “tail.” Note: some Mylu long
Indiana bat calls share this feature.
34-47 50-115 25-43 37-70 1.9-7.8 4.1-42 1.0-16 0.0-14 2.3-23 Distinctive shorter call type also
has ending ledge, but ~5–15%
of shorter Myle & Mylu also
exhibit this feature.

Sometimes with multiple power

Myotis 39.7 69.4 36.5 43.4 5.8 10.5 3.5 4.1 5.0 centers making calls look
lucifugus clumpy. Longer duration calls
41 78 38 47 6.7 14 4.6 6.2 6.7
little brown 38 61 35 40 4.9 6.7 2.3 2.0 3.4 recorded in open air are more
discriminating. Dur >7 and
bat 34-46 47-104 27-43 38-73 2.0-7.8 3.0-37 1.0-15 0.0-17 2.2-23 Lwr slp <3 distinctive.

Humboldt State University Bat Lab, March 2011 1

 Echolocation Call Characteristics of Eastern US Bats
uppr lwr slp total
species ƒc hi ƒ lo ƒ ƒmaxE dur special characteristics
slp slp @Fc slp
Strongly inflected, almost
vertical FM changing to low
Perimyotis 42.6 57.6 41.3 43.9 7.1 7.7 1.1 0.2 2.5 slope below 47 kHz for the
subflavus majority of the call. Calls
44 67 43 46 8.4 14 1.7 0.7 4.0
generally consistent across a
41 48 40 42 5.8 1.7 0.4 -0.4 0.9
Tri-colored sequence. Appear hockey
bat 36-47 41-106 34-46 36-50 3.5-12 0.3-38 0.0-4.9 0.0-4.2 0.1-12 stick–shaped in sonogram
when FM sweep is present.
Some calls exhibit “squiggles.”
4
0 40.4 67.6 40.2 43.8 6.8 10.0 2.0 0.6 4.4 U-shaped calls; up–turn at
Lasiurus end of call; may exhibit
borealis 44 81 43 49 9.1 16 3.2 1.6 7.1 variable ƒc across sequence.
37 54 37 39 4.6 4.4 0.7 -0.4 1.7 Power smoothly centered in
n Eastern Red 29-49 29-99 28-48 29-73 3.2-16 0.1-25 0.0-10 0.0-8.1 0.1-17
call. Low frequency can go as
Bat low as 30 kHz.
o
n (In progress)
U-shaped calls; up–turn at
M
y Lasiurus
40.4 62.8 39.9 42.8 7.6 7.9 1.5 0.4 3.3 end of call; may exhibit
variable ƒc across sequence.
o seminolus 44 76 44 48 9.7 13 2.4 0.9 5.3 Power smoothly centered in
36 50 36 37 5.5 3.0 0.6 -0.2 1.3 call. Low frequency can go as
t Seminole low as 30 kHz.
33-49 38-87 36-44 35-52 4.9-11 0.7-17 0.4-3.5 0.0-2.3 0.6-8.4
i bat Possibly acoustically
S indistinguishable from L.
borealis.
Sweeping curved calls that may
Nycticeius
37.8 63.0 36.1 40.0 6.6 12.5 2.3 1.2 4.9 lack any inflection. Calls have
more slope in body (lower
humeralis 40 78 38 43 9.4 20 3.7 2.5 7.9
slope) than do similar-shaped
36 48 34 37 3.8 4.7 0.9 0.0 1.8
shorter and longer Pisu calls.
Evening bat 31-43 35-101 28-43 32-48 3.3-14 0.5-32 0.0-6.1 0.0-6.5 0.1-13 Sequences may display ƒc
alternating up and down.

How to use this table

This table presents ranges for the general characterizing call parameters of echolocation calls. The boldface numbers display the mean
and ± standard deviation of the subset of calls correctly identified using SonoBat automated classification, i.e., the subset of each
species call repertoire having the most species-discriminating characteristics, using the default 0.90 discriminant probability threshold.
The lower, smaller font numbers display the overall range of all calls in the library of species-known calls used to prepare the SonoBat
classifiers. Bold text indicates the most species–discriminating characteristics.
Because of intraspecific variablity and similarity with other species, the parameters presented here will often be insufficient for confident
identification. SonoBat extracts more than five dozen parameters that it uses for call and sequence classification.
Analyze 1) well–formed calls, i.e., search phase calls recorded from bats in a steady mode of flight, away from roosts and not
accelerating or performing some other maneuver that elicits rapid, short calls, e.g., like that from a hand–released bat, and 2) calls with
a strong signal that clearly rise above the background noise level and have little distortion or echoes. It is generally preferable to avoid
analyzing calls that saturate, i.e., overload, the detector or recorder. However, saturated call specimens may still be used to interpret
time-frequency characteristics, but consider the time-amplitude domain from saturated calls to be unreliable.
Terminology and key
lo ƒ: lowest apparent frequency (kHz), hi ƒ: highest apparent frequency (kHz); this can vary depending upon the distance to the bat, ƒc:
characteristic frequency, i.e., the frequency of the call at its lowest slope toward the end of the call, or the lowest frequency for
consistent FM sweeps (kHz), ƒmaxE: the frequency with the greatest power (kHz), dur: call duration from the beginning to the end of the
call (ms), upper: the slope of the upper portion or onset of the call (kHz/ms) from the high ƒ to the knee (listed as HiFtoKnSlope on
SonoBat output), lower: the slope of the lower portion or body of the call (kHz/ms) from the knee to the ƒc (listed as KnToFcSlope on
SonoBat output).
FM: frequency modulation, i.e., a change in frequency with time, flat: a call or portion of a call with a very low slope or no slope
(horizontal), inflection: a pronounced change in the slope of a call, sometimes called a “knee,” power: the amplitude or sound energy
of a call or portions of a call, squiggle: an S-shaped variation in frequency with time over a portion of the call.

Humboldt State University Bat Lab, March 2011 2

 Echolocation Call Characteristics of Eastern US Bats
uppr lwr slp total
species ƒc hi ƒ lo ƒ ƒmaxE dur special characteristics
slp slp @Fc slp
U-shaped calls; up–turn at
end of call; may exhibit
variable ƒc across sequence.
Lasiurus 28.4 45.5 27.9 29.4 10.5 4.9 0.9 0.06 1.9 Power smoothly centered in
intermedius call. Low frequency can go as
30 53 29 32 13 7.3 1.4 0.3 2.9
northern 27 38 26 27 8.3 2.4 0.4 0.0 0.9 low as 25 kHz. Calls similar in
shape and variability to other
yellow bat 33-25 29-79 25-32 25-41 3.7-16 0.5-14 0.2-2.9 0.0-2.4 0.3-6.0 Lasiurans, but intermediate in
frequency range between
Labo/Lase and Laci.
Variable; calls with high ƒ below
60 kHz can be confused with
Lano and/or Tabr. Calls with
high ƒ above 65 kHz
27.9 49.4 26.5 30.0 8.2 5.8 1.8 1.5 3.1 distinguish from Lano, even
Eptesicus long calls have some FM
fuscus 30 56 28 32 11 8.3 2.9 2.9 4.6 component, i.e. never flat. The
26 42 25 28 5.3 3.3 0.7 0.1 1.5 end of calls may hook upward.
big brown
bat 21-33 29-69 19-32 22-42 2.8-19 0.9-17 0.2-9.4 0.0-8.2 0.3-12 * Shorter calls recorded with
3 full detail, i.e., ones that
closely approached the
0 microphone, as indicated by
the presence of harmonics,
exceed 65-70 kHz.
Shorter calls reverse J–shaped;
often with a distinct inflection.
Some call variants can be
confused with Epfu and/or Tabr.
Flat calls ≥26 kHz diagnostic.
Flat Laci calls are lower in ƒ.
Lasio- 26.6 41.7 25.4 28.8 8.9 5.5 1.3 1.1 2.6 Low slope calls in the 25–26
nycteris kHz range may be distinguished
noctivagans 28 51 27 31 13 9.3 2.7 2.6 4.9 from Laci by the presence of an
25 33 24 27 4.8 1.7 0.0 -0.5 0.4 inflection. Epfu has more FM,
silver– typically with smooth curvature
23-31 26-63 14-30 24-44 2.3-24 0.0-22 0.0-8.8 0.0-8.3 0.0-12
haired bat (no inflection).
* Shorter calls recorded with
full detail, i.e., ones that
closely approached the
microphone, as indicated by
the presence of harmonics,
still do not exceed 50-55 kHz.

Caveats: Please note that the range of characteristics listed in this table overlap among many of the species, and that
although compiled from over 11,000 calls, it still represents a finite, noninclusive data set and any individual bat may emit
calls beyond the typical ranges and call characteristics listed in this table (and mimic another species). This and the
variability of bat echolocation calls renders acoustic classification of bats a probabilistic process and relatively inexact
compared to a process like genotyping. For some species, confident species classification can only be achieved on a
subset of call types within its repertoire that falls outside of data space shared with another species. As a result many
recordings will have ambiguous species classification. Expect that, and seek the most species-discriminating call types on
which to make species determinations.

Species classification also depends upon accurate extraction of call parameter data, and that depends upon high quality
recordings having clear signals with a high signal to noise ratio and free from distortion and confounding echoes.

Humboldt State University Bat Lab, March 2011 3

 Echolocation Call Characteristics of Eastern US Bats
uppr lwr slp total
species ƒc hi ƒ lo ƒ ƒmaxE dur special characteristics
slp slp @Fc slp
Low intensity, difficult to detect;
harmonics often present. Call–
23.4 42.5 21.4 31.1 4.6 7.1 4.9 4.2 5.0 shape simple linear FM
Corynorhinus sweep, (sometimes with
townsendii 26 45 23 34 6.3 13 6.6 6.5 6.5 upsweep at onset). fmax may
Townsend’s 21 40 19 28 3.0 1.2 3.2 1.9 3.5 alternate between fundamental
big–eared bat and second harmonic.
18-32 36-51 17-30 22-41 1.7-11 0.2-70 1.1-13 0.0-13 1.0-11
This species sometimes applies
more amplitude in the second
harmonic than in the first.
Low intensity, difficult to detect;
harmonics often present. Call–
shape simple linear FM
22.8 39.8 22.5 33.2 2.6 6.2 7.4 6.7 6.7 sweep, (sometimes with
Cornorhinus upsweep or flat tone at onset
rafinesquii 25 42 25 37 5.1 8.6 8.9 8.9 8.1 before sweeping downward).
Rafinesque’s 20 37 20 30 0.1 3.7 5.9 4.4 5.2 fmax may alternate between
big–eared bat fundamental and second
23-23 40-40 22-22 33-33 2.6-2.6 6.2-6.2 7.4-7.4 6.7-6.7 6.7-6.7
harmonic.
This species sometimes applies
more amplitude in the second
harmonic than in the first.
2
Variable; FM to flat; can be
0 Tadarida 25.5 32.3 24.1 28.0 11.5 1.6 0.5 0.4 0.7 confused with Epfu, Lano, or
Laci. Long calls that "turn on"
brasiliensis 28 39 26 31 14 3.2 0.8 1.0 1.4 power rapidly with high
free–tailed 23 25 22 25 9.5 0.0 0.1 -0.3 0.0 energy at beginning
bat 18-33 19-61 17-33 18-46 3.5-20 0.0-17 0.0-4.5 0.0-4.1 0.0-4.8
(oscillogram carrot–like).
Calls often upswing into call
and downswing out of call.
Pronounced or subtle U–
shape; very flat calls may have
slight downturn into call or
upturn at end. Fully formed (i.e.,
good quality) calls never get
20.1 26.0 19.7 20.8 11.0 2.2 0.4 0.0 0.7 completely flat like a Tabr or
Lasiurus Lano, but out of range
cinereus 22 31 22 23 15 4.1 0.8 0.2 1.4 fragments can appear flat and
18 21 18 18 7 0.3 0.1 -0.1 0.1 mimic Tabr. The most flat calls
hoary bat tend to be lower in ƒ than flat
16-32 17-58 16-31 17-49 4-26 0.1-14 0.0-5.7 0.0-4.6 0.0-8.3
Lano calls. Low ƒ may vary
across sequence, power
builds toward center then
gradually declines. Short calls
can be confused with Lano,
Epfu, or Tabr.

Sources:
Characteristics gleaned from recordings acquired by J.M. Szewczak, Humboldt State University Bat Lab (J.M. Szewczak, Aaron
Corcoran, and Jean-Paul Kennedy), Patricial C. Ormsbee, USFS Pacific Northwest Research Station, and various contibutors to the
Pacific Northwest Bat Grid, T.J. Weller, USFS Redwood Sciences Lab, and numerous other generous contributors.

The information presented in the table represents work in progress and is presented with the acknowledgement that it is unlikely to be
the definitive description of these species’ acoustic characteristics. Please use accordingly.

Humboldt State University Bat Lab, March 2011 4