Into the light: atypical diurnal foraging activity of Blyth’s horseshoe bat, Rhinolophus lepidus (Chiroptera: Rhinolophidae) on Tioman Island, Malaysia

Abstract

Abstract Diurnal flight and foraging activity in insectivorous bats are atypical behaviours that have been recorded from islands with few avian predators and from locations with extended daylight hours. We present the first known observations of diurnal activity of Rhinolophus lepidus in forests on Tioman Island, Malaysia, recorded using visual surveys and acoustic monitoring. The bats were flying during the day and at night, and feeding buzzes detected suggest that they were actively foraging during the day. This appears to be a regular phenomenon on Tioman Island. The absence of resident diurnal avian predators that hunt below the forest canopy may account for the diurnal activity of R. lepidus in forests there.