Migrating Silver-Haired Bat (Lasionycteris noctivagans) in Mississippi

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.