Food habits of the frog-eating bat, Trachops cirrhosus, in Atlantic Forest of Northeastern Brazil

Abstract

The frog-eating bat, Trachops cirrhosus , is a medium-sized carnivore bat (28-45 g), which appears to feed mainly on frogs, although it also eats lizards, some insects and occasional fruits, small mammals and birds. This species is able to identify frog species by their vocalizations and avoid poisonous species. In August 2002 we found three feeding roosts of T. cirrhosus in an abandoned house within the Reserva Biologica de Saltinho, Pernambuco state. Despite their high behavioral specialization to consume frogs, in the Saltinho Reserve frog- eating bats consumed mainly birds and perhaps bats.