No bats don’t lay eggs like birds do because of the following reasons:
Bats Are Mammals
Bats are mammals not birds. As mammals, they give birth to live young.
Mammals are a classification of animals that have fur or hair, are warm-blooded, produce milk for their young, and have a four-chambered heart.
Examples of animals that are classified as mammals are: humans, monkeys, elephants, horses, dogs, rats and cats.
Bats are the only mammals that can fly. All other mammals are terrestrial, meaning they live on the ground.
Flying squirrels although mammals don’t actually fly, they just glide from tree to tree.
Bats are more closely related to primates, such as monkeys and humans, than they are to birds.
The scientific classification for bats is:
Class: Mammalia
Order: Chiroptera
Suborder: Microchiroptera
How Are Bats Different From Birds?
There are several ways that bats are different from birds:
- Bats have fur not feathers.
- Bats cannot fly as far or as high as birds can.
- Bats use sonar (echolocation) to navigate and hunt, while birds use their eyesight.
- Bats roost upside down, while birds perch on trees or branches.
- Bats have wings made of skin and bones, while birds have wings made of feathers.
- Bats cant see fairly well, while birds have better eyesight.
- Bats can live up to 30 years, while birds generally have a shorter lifespan.
- Bats are mostly nocturnal, (active at night) while birds are mostly diurnal. (active during the day)
- There are over 1,400 species of bats, while there are only about 10,000 species of birds.
What Do Bats Eat?
Bats eat a variety of things including: insects, spiders, lizards, frogs, snakes, small mammals and fruit.
Some bats eat only insects, while others will eat just fruit.
Fruit bats, also known as megabats, are a suborder of bats that eat fruit.
They are found in Africa, Asia, Australia and some Pacific Islands.
Fruit bats are important to the environment because they help disperse the seeds of the fruit they eat.
Insect-eating bats are found throughout the world.
They use echolocation to navigate and hunt their prey.
Echolocation is a system where the bat sends out sound waves and then listens for the echoes to determine where objects are.
Some insect-eating bats will eat over 1,000 mosquitoes in a single night!
Do Bats Carry Diseases?
Yes, bats can carry diseases.
The most well-known disease that bats carry is rabies.
Rabies is a virus that attacks the central nervous system and is almost always fatal.
Bats can also carry other diseases such as: histoplasmosis and lyssavirus.
Histoplasmosis is a fungal disease contracted through airborne spores in bat droppings while Australian bat lyssavirus (ABLV) is a virus that can be transmitted from bats to humans, causing serious illness.
However, it is important to remember that most bats do not carry diseases.
And, the risk of contracting a diseases from a bat is very low.
If you are ever bitten by a bat, it is important to seek medical attention immediately
Vampire Bats
Vampire bats are a type of bat that feeds on the blood of other animals.
They are found in Central and South America.
Vampire bats generally feed on the blood of: livestock, birds and other bats.
They use their razor sharp teeth to make a small cut in the skin of their victim and then lap up the blood that flows from the wound.
Vampire bats generally only take a small amount of blood from their victim.
Mammals That Lay Eggs
Although most mammals give birth to live young, there are a few that lay eggs.
The echidna and the platypus are two examples of mammals that lay eggs.
Both of these animals are found in Australia and are monotremes, which means they have a few characteristics that are more reptilian than mammal.
For example, they have a lower body temperature, lay shelled eggs, and have a cloaca (a common opening for the digestive, urinary, and reproductive tracts).
Other than these characteristics, they are mammals and have fur or hair, produce milk, and are warm-blooded.
Birds
Birds are a classification of animals with the following characteristics: they have feathers, wings, and a beak.
There are over 10,000 species of birds found throughout the world.
Some examples of birds are: chickens, ducks, owls, eagles, and penguins.
Birds are warm-blooded, have a four-chambered heart, and lay eggs.
They are the only animals with feathers.
Most birds can fly, but some, like penguins and ostrich cannot.
Birds are an important part of the ecosystem because they help to disperse seeds and pollinate flowers.
