If you’ve ever caught yourself picking up a friend’s accent or slang, you already understand a little bit about vampire bats.

It is late at night, and we are silently watching a bat in a roost through a night-vision camera. From a nearby speaker comes a long, rattling trill. Cane toad’s rattling trill call. The bat briefly ...

A frog-eating bat approaches a túngara frog, one of its preferred foods. Image credit: Grant Maslowski It is late at night, and we are silently watching a bat in a roost through a night-vision camera.

Ever suddenly realize you had picked up certain words or ways of speaking from a close friend? It turns out that humans are far from the only animals who copy the sounds of their closest companions — ...

Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Bats are well known for their ability to “see” with sound, using ...

Bats live in a world of sounds. They use vocalizations both to communicate with their conspecifics and for navigation. For the latter, they emit sounds in the ultrasonic range, which echo and enable ...

Ever suddenly realize you had picked up certain words or ways of speaking from a close friend? It turns out that humans are far from the only animals who copy the sounds of their closest companions—a ...