Migrating Silver-haired Bat (Lasionycteris noctivagans) in Mississippi

Katelin P. Cross^1,*, Victoria Starnes², and Scott A. Rush¹

¹Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks, Mississippi Museum of Natural Science, 2148 Riverside Drive, Jackson, MS 39202. ²Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Aquaculture, Box 9690, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS 39762. *Corresponding author.

Southeastern Naturalist,Volume 20, Issue 3 (2021): N79–N82

Abstract
Lasionycteris noctivagans (Silver-haired Bat) is relatively uncommon in the southeastern United States and is thought to only occur in Mississippi during spring and fall migration and in winter. Prior to 2020, there was only 1 confirmed record of a Silver-haired Bat Mississippi. It was a solitary female found in Jackson, Hinds County, on 19 October 1986. Thirty-four years later, 2 Silver-haired Bats were observed during migration periods in 2020. A female was collected in Harrison County on 9 March 2020, adding to the few records of Silver-haired Bats migrating to the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. On 5 October 2020, a young Silver-haired Bat was found on the ground at Mississippi State University, Oktibbeha County. This new record expands our current knowledge about this species in Mississippi and throughout the southeastern United States.

Download Full-text pdf (Accessible only to subscribers. To subscribe click here.)