Recent research has found that the greater mouse-eared bat's distress calls imitate the sounds of bees and wasps to deter owls. Although the calls of the bat and the buzz of a European hornet can be told apart normally, at an owl's hearing range they could only be told apart in around 53% of cases.
Studying the effects of the bat distress call, hornets and honeybees buzzing and a control of normal bat sounds on both wild and captive owls (tawny and barn), it was found that owls consistently reacted to the insects and bat distress calls by moving away but approached the speaker when the normal bat calls were playing.
This has led the scientists to say that this is a case of Batesian acoustic mimicry; it is the first time that a mammal has ever been recorded mimicking an insect.
Other bat species have also been recorded making buzz calls, as have other species that naturally nest in rock or tree cavities such as North American flicker woodpeckers.
The full paper can be read here:
DEFINE_ME
Studying the effects of the bat distress call, hornets and honeybees buzzing and a control of normal bat sounds on both wild and captive owls (tawny and barn), it was found that owls consistently reacted to the insects and bat distress calls by moving away but approached the speaker when the normal bat calls were playing.
This has led the scientists to say that this is a case of Batesian acoustic mimicry; it is the first time that a mammal has ever been recorded mimicking an insect.
Other bat species have also been recorded making buzz calls, as have other species that naturally nest in rock or tree cavities such as North American flicker woodpeckers.
The full paper can be read here:
DEFINE_ME