News Animals

Chatty bats are more likely to take risks

Broadcasting vocalizations may affect group dynamics

A hovering bat sticks out its tongue to touch a flower

Bats may broadcast their individual personalities through their calls, a study finds, with chattier bats behaving more boldly.

Luis Vargas/iNaturalist (CC BY-NC 4.0)

By Richard Kemeny

All bats are vocal, but some are more vocal than others.

This chattiness reveals their individuality, with more talkative bats acting more boldly, researchers report January 29 in Proceedings of the Royal Society B.