
Photo: Ameet Mandavia · CC BY 4.0
Kerivoula picta
Rare visitor: recorded only occasionally in this country
Diet
Small insects, caught in flight
Habitat
Old weaver and sunbird nests, banana leaves and hut eaves
Litter size
1
Size
Body 3-5.5cm, wingspan 18-30cm
Weight
About 5g
The painted bat, or painted woolly bat, is tiny, about 5 g, with body and tail each 3 to 5.5 cm and a wingspan of 18 to 30 cm. It is bright orange or scarlet with black wings and orange along the fingers. It hunts small insects in flights of one to two hours, using its tail membrane as a net (Wikipedia, general species account).
It roosts in small groups of two to six, in the suspended nests of weaver finches and sunbirds, in banana leaves or under hut eaves, and family units of a mother, father and one young are reported. Breeding is thought to be between June and August. It is found across South and Southeast Asia, including Vietnam.