Mammals
White-Winged Vampire Bat
Diaemus youngi · also called white-winged vampire bats
Climbing quietly along a branch toward a roosting bird, a white-winged vampire bat relies on pale wing-tip patches and a bird-blood diet to set itself apart from its far more famous relative, the common vampire bat.
Overview
The white-winged vampire bat, Diaemus youngi, is a blood-feeding mammal native to forest and wetland habitat across a range extending from Mexico through Central America and into much of South America. Its preference for bird blood over mammal blood, distinctive pale wing markings, and status as one of only three vampire bat species in the world make it one of the more specialised and lesser-known blood-feeding bats found anywhere in the Americas.
A vampire bat with a taste for birds
While its famous relative targets livestock and other mammals, the white-winged vampire bat instead specialises in bird blood, a dietary distinction that shapes both its hunting behaviour and its comparatively modest, hollow-tree roosting groups.
Status
Least Concern, remaining present across suitable forest and wetland habitat throughout its range from Mexico through South America.
White-Winged Vampire Bat: common questions
How is the white-winged vampire bat different from the common vampire bat?
This species prefers feeding on the blood of birds, particularly poultry, rather than mammal blood, setting it apart from the common vampire bat, which feeds predominantly on livestock and other mammals, alongside its distinctive pale wing-tip patches.
How does the white-winged vampire bat feed?
This species obtains blood through a small, painless bite followed by lapping the flow with saliva containing an anticoagulant that keeps the wound from clotting, a feeding method shared with the other two vampire bat species found in the Americas.
How many vampire bat species exist?
This species is one of only three known vampire bat species anywhere in the world, alongside the common vampire bat and the hairy-legged vampire bat, all three of which are found exclusively in Latin America.
Where does the white-winged vampire bat live?
This species is native to forest and wetland habitat across a range extending from Mexico through Central America and into much of South America, typically roosting in hollow trees in relatively small groups.