What Is A Group Of Bats Called? Interesting Facts For Kids

Bats are highly social mammals that live in large groups that can number in millions.

We can find them almost anywhere, from seashores to deserts and mountains, with a place suitable to roost during the day. As we explore wildlife, we encounter these bats in large numbers roosting in caves, holes, cracks, trees, bushes, and even ancient buildings.

If you appeared unexpectedly at a bat cave, you'll probably find flying bats that would collide with you. Or, in warm, dry weather, you may encounter bats around sunset or sunrise.

When you come across a large group, it will undoubtedly be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It is critical to learn the collective terms to deliver a rich impression in your writings when you pen down your experiences.

The phrase 'an army of frogs' is well-known as a collective noun for frogs. However, when it comes to a few animals or birds, most people are inclined to overlook and use the general phrase flock rather than the precise term.

Some terms we've heard before, but other terms most people have never heard of. Would you like to find out what a group of bats is called?

Continue reading to learn what is a group of bats called? And if you are looking for more collective nouns, please do check out our related articles like what is a group of dolphins called? And what is a group of ducks called?

Most Common Name For A Group Of Bats

Whether it's a group of animals, birds, or even insects, each has its own collective noun to identify it. So, how do you represent a group of bats?

The collective noun for a group of bats is a 'cauldron of bats.' You can use the word cauldron to describe any number of bats flying in the sky.

A variety of collective nouns can describe these little creatures, depending on the context. A group of bats can be referred to as a colony, cauldron, camp, or cloud. A cauldron of bats is simply the term most commonly used for a group of bats.

Some standard illustrations of bats often used in language include:

'In the dark, keep an eye out for a cauldron of bats hanging inside a cave.'

'A cauldron of bats generally assembles in a single roosting spot.'

'A cauldron of bats is most active at night when it is warm, humid, and there is no breeze.'

The 'cauldron" is the collective noun for a group of bats.

As mentioned, bats do not merely have one specific collective noun; there are more. A group of bats is sometimes also known as a camp of bats as it appears to be related to how we make camps at night in the forests.

'A camp of bats has been spotted roosting in holes in ancient trees.'

'Well, Lookout for a camp of bats as they peer into the home while you're asleep.'

'We could watch bats returning from their daily search for food early in the morning as our tent was near a bat camp.'

In the same way, squirrels have more than one collective noun. They can be referred to as a dray or a scurry of squirrels.

What do you call a group of baby bats?

You may be familiar with the fact that a young bat is known as a pup.

Yes, a newborn bat is a pup from the moment it is born until it grows to an adult and can fledge from its mother and hunt independently. So, what do you think are the collective nouns for these bat pups could be?

Although no specific name has been assigned to a group of baby bats, they can be referred to as a colony rather than a colony of pups. Due to the vulnerable nature of bat pups, they must be safeguarded along with grown-ups in large numbers until they can flourish on their own.

These adult mammals do not leave the bat pups alone to form a separate group.

Learn more from the examples we provide below to help you understand that one word that means group.

'A colony of bats flying across a painted moon looks like a scene straight out of a Halloween movie.'

'A bat colony must learn to manage for itself in the vast world of hunting, foraging, and escaping predators.'

'The colony of bats often starts babbling early in their development.'

Name For A Large Group Of Bats

Few bats live individually; while most bat species dwell in large numbers (even over a million), many species exhibit a fission-fusion social structure in which they divide into small subgroups and merge into a large group of bats in one roosting place.

The number may alter in size and location over time, and studies reveal that many bat species are loyal to their colony over long periods. So, what is the specific word that is used to refer to them?

When a large number of bats live in a vast cave, it is called a colony, similar to how a human colony is formed when many people live nearby. When a large number of bats are seen flying, it is referred to as a cloud because it is as dark as a cloud covering the whole sky with bats.

Similarly, a group of swans is known as a bevy or a game, but while in flight, they are described as a wedge.

Let's look at some statements where a group of bats is referred to as a colony.

'Many people associate a colony of bats with an image of bloodsucking monsters gathered in one place.'

'A colony of bats makes an eerie or menacing impact and is often connected with haunted places.'

'According to research, a single bat colony can consume hundreds of thousands of insects in a night.'

'A colony of bats was spotted resting upside down in an ancient cave.'

'A colony of bats often sleeps during the day and hunts for food at night time.'

The word colony is derived from the word 'colonia,' which means a settlement in Roman. It is extracted from the Latin word 'colon-us,' which means farmer or a planter, and communicates the concepts of landed estate and farm.

In addition, the expression also cites the Old Greek 'apoikia,' which referred to foreign communities founded by ancient Greek city-states.

The city that cradled the foreign colony became known as its metropolis, which means mother-city. This might help you understand why the word colony is used with some animals, including the bat.

The world's biggest bat colony, with more than 15 million Mexican free-tailed bats, may be found at the outskirts of San Antonio in a place named Bracken Cave. While the world's largest urban bat colony, consisting of over 1.5 million bats, was found at the Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge in the center of the city Austin.

It is a maternity colony, with female Mexican free-tailed bats breeding about 750,000 pups at the bridge each year.

Bats and a few other mammals, like penguins, as well as some amphibians that live in large numbers, have the same collective nouns as a bat colony. An ant colony, a penguin colony, a rabbit colony, and a frog colony are thus common phrases.

What is a swarming of bats called?

Suppose it's dark, and you're out on a leisurely walk before retiring for the night. As you go up to your front door, you hear a high-pitched squeaking and the flapping of wings.

You try to decipher what the thing was, and you look up to see the source of the squeaking and flapping as bird-like critters fly over your house in swooping arcs.

However, if you come close to these birds, you'll notice that they aren't birds at all: they're bats. Now you got to know what they are doing around your house.

If you encounter bats in or near your home, the possible reason is that they've picked your building as a swarming location; in other words, please note that seeing bats near your property may suggest that you could have a pest problem.

Swarming is social practice exhibited by different bat species. During swarming, bats display critical flight activity, circling in and around the site's entrance throughout the night, but do not rest there during the day.

Swarming behavior is mainly bound to species that utilize underground habitats seasonally, hibernating there in the winter but having different roosting places in the summer. Many behavioral and genetic research studies have revealed that swarming serves as mixed mating behavior or teaches pups to locate a hibernation site.

Furthermore, scientists noticed amazing coordination in animals during swarming. While flying in the sky, they even avoid bumping into one another as one of them accelerates up and the other slows down in perfect coordination.   

Now that you now know what a group of bats is called. In your various phrases, make sure you use the different words well; use cauldron, cloud, camp, or colony of bats instead of just calling it a group.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for What is a group of bats called? Then why not take a look at What is a group of goats called? or Vampire bat Facts?