Soprano pipistrelle
Pipistrellus pygmaeus
Jakob Fahr · Viewegsgarten-Bebelhof
Key facts in one look
- Diet
- Insectivore: aquatic midges, mosquitoes, mayflies
- Status in Georgia
- Native; known since 2000
- Size
- Body 3.5–4.5 cm, weight 3–8 g
- Habitat
- Riverside woods, lakes, reservoirs
- Family
- Vespertilionidae
- Conservation
- LC / LC
The soprano pipistrelle (Pipistrellus pygmaeus) looks like a twin of the common pipistrelle and was treated as the same species until 1999. Both are equally tiny, with a body of 3.5–4.5 cm and a weight of 3–8 g, but the soprano calls at a higher pitch, about 55 kHz. All its known records in Georgia date from after 2000. It hunts along rivers, in floodplain forest and over reservoirs, from Lagodekhi and the Alazani floodplain to Kolkheti. You will hardly tell it from the common pipistrelle by eye, so do not try to catch one.
Identification
Soprano pipistrelle: how to identify it
A very small bat with a reddish-brown back and a short, pale muzzle and ears. Adults have a yellowish-orange tint on the muzzle and head. It looks almost exactly like the common pipistrelle, so the species is told apart mainly by its echolocation call.
Size: body 3.5–4.5 cm, forearm 29–34 mm, wingspan 19–23 cm, weight 3–8 g. The common pipistrelle is almost the same size, only slightly larger. Size will not separate these two species.
The face is paler than the common pipistrelle's, pinkish. Adults have a yellowish-orange tint on the muzzle, the head fur and around the genitals, coloured by secretions of facial glands. The common pipistrelle lacks this tint, but it is hard to see without holding the bat.
The most reliable clue is the call. The soprano's echolocation call is loudest at about 55 kHz, the common pipistrelle's at about 45 kHz and Nathusius' pipistrelle's at about 38 kHz. People cannot hear these sounds; they are measured with a bat detector.
Colour
The back is reddish brown, the belly paler. The fur is short and dense. The muzzle and ears are short and pale, and the face is pinkish. Adults have a yellowish-orange tint on the muzzle and head.
Swatches are illustrative. Do not identify a species by colour alone.
The soprano pipistrelle is tied to water and floodplain forest. It hunts over lakes and rivers and in riverside woodland, and also along woodland edges, tree lines, gardens and parks. It is more selective than the common pipistrelle. Maternity roosts are mostly in cavity walls of houses, under outer cladding and in tree holes. Winter roosts are poorly known, probably tree holes. Georgia has 74 records, all from 2000–2021. It has been found in the Lagodekhi reserve, in the Alazani floodplain forests near Kvemo Alvani and Alaverdi, in the Korugi and Gardabani managed reserves, at the Tbilisi reservoir and near Rustavi, and along the Algeti river near Manglisi and Khopisi. In the west it is known from Kolkheti National Park at the mouth of the Churia river, from an oak forest near Kutaisi and from the Ajameti managed reserve. It also occurs in the Borjomi area, in Adjara, near Vardzia and in the Kazbegi area at Sno.
The soprano pipistrelle feeds on small insects, mostly ones linked to water: aquatic midges, mosquitoes and mayflies. It catches them in flight. It leaves the roost about 20 minutes after sunset and flies nimbly 2–10 m above the ground, over the water surface and around small forest glades. In one study, 77% of its hunting time was spent in riverside woodland and over water.
The soprano pipistrelle seeks warm roosts and often lives under roofs. Its hunting grounds can lie 4–10 km from the roost, though it mostly hunts close by. In Georgia its records run from April to November, with most in August. Maternity colonies are much larger than the common pipistrelle's: about 200 bats on average, sometimes more than a thousand. In June or early July the female usually has one young. The young feeds only on milk for 3–4 weeks, starts flying at about 4 weeks and hunts on its own at 6 weeks. In the mating season, from July to early September, males defend territories and sing in flight.
Globally the soprano pipistrelle is Least Concern (LC, 2016). In Georgia's 2021 national assessment it is also Least Concern (LC), with a stable population. It is threatened by damage to floodplain and riverside forests and by renovation of buildings where its colonies live. What matters most for it is riverside woodland and clean water to hunt over.
Related guides
Continue with related pages
Yes. The country's bat data hold 74 records of it, all from 2000–2021. It has been found in the Lagodekhi reserve, in the Alazani floodplain forests, at the Tbilisi reservoir, near Rustavi, in Kolkheti National Park, near Kutaisi and near Vardzia. Most records come from near rivers and reservoirs.
Mainly by its call. The soprano's echolocation call is loudest at about 55 kHz, the common pipistrelle's at about 45 kHz. The soprano has a paler, pinkish face and a yellowish-orange tint on the muzzle. It hunts more over water and in riverside woodland, and its colonies are larger.
It does not attack you, but do not touch it with bare hands. A bat bite can be so small that you may not notice it, and direct contact with a bat is treated as a serious rabies risk. After a bite or scratch, wash the spot with soap and water for at least 15 minutes and see a doctor. In an emergency, call 112.
Stay calm and take children and pets out of the room. Close the doors to other rooms, open the windows wide, pull back the curtains and switch off the light. Then leave and give it time: a bat usually finds the way out on its own. Do not try to catch a bat in flight.
Small insects, mostly ones linked to water: aquatic midges, mosquitoes and mayflies. It hunts at dusk, over the water surface and in riverside woodland, 2–10 m above the ground. It catches its prey in flight.
It is not threatened. Globally it is Least Concern (LC, 2016), and Georgia's 2021 national assessment also lists it as Least Concern (LC), with a stable population. It is threatened by damage to floodplain forests and by renovation of buildings where colonies live. Keeping riverside woodland intact matters most for this bat.
References
What this profile is based on
Species profiles are compiled from peer-reviewed literature and established biodiversity databases, and are reviewed as new taxonomic and conservation data become available.
Prepared by the Reptiles.ge editorial team from the sources listed here.
