BAT BEHAVIOR: Bats are nocturnal. They sleep in roosts during the daytime, and emerge at dusk. If it's a colony of bats living in a building, they crawl to the edge, and fly out. First they head for water and get a drink, skimming the surface on the wing. They then feast on flying insects, primarily moths and beetles. After a while they get full and head back to the roost in order to rest. They then fly back out to feed some more. They may make several trips per night. Bats use echolocation in order to aid in navigation and feeding on the wing. They emit high-pitched chirps and read the sonar-like returns of the sound waves as they bounce back off of objects. Roosting preference depends on the species and even gender of the bats, but we are only concerned with colonizing bats such as the three mentioned above. These colonies are composed primarily of females. The males roost alone in solitary areas, such as trees. The females form huge clusters, very frequently in man-made architecture such as church towers, attics, bridges, etc. They tolerate and even prefer very high temperatures. Many of the southern bats migrate to different areas as climates change. However, bats in the north hibernate in colder weather.