Mammals
Pallas's Long-tongued Bat
Glossophaga soricina · also called Pallas long-tongued bat
Hanging in mid-air before a night-blooming flower, Pallas’s long-tongued bat beats its wings in a blur and dips its brushy tongue into the nectar, a tiny hummingbird of the night.
Overview
Pallas’s long-tongued bat, Glossophaga soricina, is a Least Concern nectar bat found from Mexico to northern Argentina. Its hovering feeding, long brush-tipped tongue, and pollination of tropical flowers make it one of the best-known flower-visiting bats in the Americas.
A hummingbird by night
Like the hummingbirds that work the same flowers by day, Pallas’s long-tongued bat hovers to feed and carries pollen between plants as it goes.
Status
Least Concern, widespread and common across a large range.
Pallas's Long-tongued Bat: common questions
How does Pallas's long-tongued bat drink nectar?
It hovers in front of a flower and laps up nectar with a long tongue tipped with tiny bristles.
Does Pallas's long-tongued bat only eat nectar?
Mostly, but it also eats pollen, some fruit, and insects for protein.
How does Pallas's long-tongued bat help plants?
It carries pollen from flower to flower, pollinating a wide range of tropical plants.
Where is Pallas's long-tongued bat found?
It lives in forests and scrub from Mexico through Central America to northern Argentina.