Big brown bats carry a NatureServe S5 secure rank in Mississippi for both breeding and non-breeding populations, and the record leans almost entirely on iNaturalist (88 of 91 records), suggesting casual sightings, not survey work, drive what’s documented about this building-roosting bat in the state.
January alone accounts for 43 of the year’s monthly-tallied sightings, nearly half the total, an unusual winter spike for a bat; big brown bats are among the few North American species that can stay periodically active through mild Southern winters rather than entering deep hibernation, which likely explains why they turn up more in Mississippi’s winters than most other bats do.
Full species profile
