HOUSE RAT OR BLACK RAT/Behaviour, Distribution, Habitat, Size, Weight, IUCN stetus

DESCRIPTION: The most common rat in the world, the House or Black Rat, variously known as the Roof or Ship Rat, is a medium-sized dark brown rat with many distinct subspecies. The two most common subspecies are a greyish–buff- ventered form that occurs in homes and urban areas and a white- ventered forest form. Darker forms that almost verge on black are also found. Some forms in the hills such as R.r. tistae and R.r. gangutrianus have longer, softer fur in winter, while the common village rat of the Kashmir Valley has a tail that is shorter than its head and body. The House Rat is characterized by flat spines in its dorsal fur, a feature shared by five other species.

BEHAVIOUR: Very adaptable; highly varied.

DISTRIBUTION: In homes and forests throughout India.

HABITAT: Found in all habitats in India except cold deserts.

Size: HBL: 14– 20 cm

IUCN Status: Least Concern

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LARGE BANDICOOT RAT/Behaviour, Distribution, Habitat, Size, Weight, IUCN stetus

DESCRIPTION: A large dark brown, nearly black, rat with coarse fur, at first sight it provokes revulsion in most people. It is dark overall, as both the feet and tail are black, and the underside is only slightly greyer compared with the rest of the body.

BEHAVIOUR: It lives in a single burrow system that has large openings on the surface.

DISTRIBUTION: B.i. indica: throughout India. Except in the north–east, northern West Bengal eastwards  and Western Ghats .

HABITAT: Alongside human habitation and farms, except in deserts and mountains.

IUCN Status: Least Concern

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LESSER BANDICOOT RAT OR INDIAN MOLE RAT/Behaviour, Distribution, Habitat, Size, Weight, IUCN stetus

DESCRIPTION: Only slightly smaller than B. indica, this is identified by its browner rather than black colouration, and a dark tail that is shorter than its head and body length. Its undersides are greyish; its face is more rounded, with a broad muzzle and round, pinkish ears. In hand, it is seen to have up to 18 mammae, while the Large Bandicoot only has twelve.

BEHAVIOUR: Its burrow system has up to a dozen openings, normally plugged with loose soil. It grunts often and is a very aggressive rat.

DISTRIBUTION: Throughout India. B.b. wardii: only in Jammu & Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh.

HABITAT: Near human habitation and crop fields, pasture, wasteland, vegetation near wetlands or waterbodies, and inundated paddies.

IUCN Status: Least Concern

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TICKELL’S BAT/Behaviour, Distribution, Habitat, Size, Weight, IUCN stetus

DESCRIPTION: This is a large golden brown bat with a grey head. Its ears are yellowish brown with white hair at the base. Its wings are long and its long tail is enclosed in a membrane, except for the tip. Its muzzle is broad and swollen.

BEHAVIOUR: A slow flier, it emerges in the early evening. It roosts in tall trees with dense vegetation and may hold territories.

DISTRIBUTION: Recorded from Andaman islands, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Assam, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Goa and Rajasthan.

HABITAT: Lowland bat of floodplains, coasts and even low hills.

 Size: 5–7.9 cm,

IUCN Status: Least Concern

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HARLEQUIN BAT/Behaviour, Distribution, Habitat, Size, Weight, IUCN stetus

DESCRIPTION: A large evening bat, it has an orange dorsal side and a brown underside with tufts of paler, white hairs on both sides of the body, forming patterns. Sometimes, a whole line is formed by the white tufts on the back. The wings and large ears are both dark brown and naked.

BEHAVIOUR: Flies high and fast just after dark, uttering a twittering call.

DISTRIBUTION: North–east India.

HABITAT: Trees and tall vegetation in well-wooded valleys.

 Size: 5.4–8.5 cm,

IUCN Status: Least Concern

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ASIATIC GREATER YELLOW HOUSE BAT/Behaviour, Distribution, Habitat, Size, Weight, IUCN stetus

DESCRIPTION: Easily recognizable by its yellowish brown back and bright yellow underside, this bat is thickset, with a long tail that is enclosed in the membrane. The dark muzzle is naked and swollen. It has a pale nape and small ears with transverse ridges on them.

BEHAVIOUR: It has a low, straight, silent flight, and is not shy of light when roosting.

DISTRIBUTION: Throughout India except Jammu & Kashmir and the high Himalayas.

Habitat: Roosts in old buildings, hollow trees, under palm fronds, and even houses.

Size: 5.5–9.3 cm,

IUCN Status: Least Concern

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GREAT EVENING BAT/Behaviour, Distribution, Habitat, Size, Weight, IUCN stetus

DESCRIPTION: Among the biggest of the evening bats, this species resembles a large grey-brown serotine with black wings. Its long tail sticks partially out of a dark inter-femoral membrane, and its ears are broad and rounded off.

BEHAVIOUR: Unknown.

DISTRIBUTION: Meghalaya and Assam.

HABITAT: Caves at 1,500 m, in an oak forest setting.

Size:  7–7.7 cm

IUCN Status: Least Concern

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DORMER’S BAT/Behaviour, Distribution, Habitat, Size, Weight, IUCN stetus

DESCRIPTION: A medium-sized pipistrelle with a short tail, it has a glossy grey–brown back, sometimes yellowish brown, and a pale front. Its face, ears and wings are dark brown, and its inter-femoral veins are sometimes white.

BEHAVIOUR: This bat is a slow flier, despite fast wingbeats, and it glides occasionally.

DISTRIBUTION: Throughout India, except in the high Himalayas. It is especially abundant in Gujarat and Rajasthan.

HABITAT: It roosts in disused buildings, under tiles in the roof, and tree hollows, in towns and villages.

Size: 3.9–5.5 cm,

IUCN Status: Least Concern

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COMMON SEROTINE/Behaviour, Distribution, Habitat, Size, Weight, IUCN stetus

DESCRIPTION: This is a large, dark brown serotine with a pale buff belly and throat, and dark hair roots on both sides of the body. It has a thick muzzle, naked except for some hair on the lip, with glandular swellings on both sides. Its ears are dark and long, with six parallel ridges on them, and it has a long tail with a small portion protruding beyond the membrane.

BEHAVIOUR: It has a straight, even, slow flight, and makes constant clicks and squeaks. It hibernates in tree hollows.

DISTRIBUTION: The Himalayas, from Jammu & Kashmir to Nagaland.

HABITAT: Hollow trees and caves. It prefers foothills and is not found at high altitudes.

Size: 5.4-8 cm,

IUCN Status: Least Concern

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NEPALESE WHISKERED BAT/Behaviour, Distribution, Habitat, Size, Weight, IUCN stetus

DESCRIPTION: This small bat has a lip with a hairy whisker-like fringe. Its hair is russet–brown with dark bases, and it has small ears and feet. M.m. caliginosus is slightly larger than the eastern subspecies.

BEHAVIOUR: Often roosts in rolled-up banana leaves at the centre of the plant.

DISTRIBUTION: Valleys and mountains of northern and eastern India (up to 3,000 m). M.m. muricola in the eastern Himalayas and M.m. caliginosus in the western Himalayas.

HABITAT: Scrub and disturbed forests.

Size: 4.1–4.7 cm, 

IUCN Status: Least Concern

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