The Bedtime Scientist

A question

How do bats see in the dark?

A calm, true answer. Then, if the wondering keeps going, the whole episode.

The short answer

Mostly they listen. A bat calls out, far too high for us to hear, and reads the echoes coming back: how long they take to return, and how they have changed on the way.

From that it builds a picture accurate enough to catch a moth in mid-air. Most bats can see perfectly well, too. Sound is simply better in the dark, and one bat can catch thousands of insects in a night.

Go deeper tonight

Bats: Masters of the Dark

The full episode, in one calm voice, with nothing that startles.

The episode

Bats: Masters of the Dark

0:00 14:45
Sleep timer

Read the guide for this one in the morning.

This connects to

Sound and echoes Rest Finding the way

One idea turns up in many different nights. Follow one and the library starts to join up.