Virginia mammals

Big Brown Bat in Virginia

Eptesicus fuscus

Native to Virginia S5 Secure in Virginia

Not listed as nonindigenous in Virginia by USGS NAS; native to its Virginia range.

IUCN Red List status

  1. LC
  2. NT
  3. VU
  4. EN
  5. CR
  6. EW
  7. EX

LC – Least Concern

Widespread and abundant; not at risk.

Big Brown Bats (Eptesicus fuscus)Big brown bat flying in daylight with wings spreadBig brown bat flying at night with wings spreadBig brown bat roosting on lichen-covered tree barkBig brown bat roosting on a wooden structure
Photo: Connor Long · CC BY-SA 4.0Big Brown Bats (Eptesicus fuscus)Photo: rhododendrites · CC-BY-SABig brown bat flying in daylight with wings spreadPhoto: Dan Riskin · CC-BYBig brown bat flying at night with wings spreadPhoto: Rita Clare · CC0Big brown bat roosting on lichen-covered tree barkPhoto: Bonnie Isaac · CC0Big brown bat roosting on a wooden structure

Big Brown Bat in Virginia, by the numbers

Common in Virginia 24th most recorded of 105 mammals logged in Virginia

290 occurrence records
266 with iNaturalist photos
Jul 4, 2026 Last seen in Virginia

Records from 2000–2026.

290 total records count every Virginia occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the map plots a georeferenced sample of 273; the monthly chart covers the 273 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the Big Brown Bat in Virginia

Most sightings fall in July to August.

273 Virginia occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) by month of year, 2000–2026. Shows when the species is recorded, not a guarantee of presence.

Monthly Virginia records (table)
MonthRecords
January14
February13
March18
April26
May18
June30
July57
August44
September20
October8
November12
December13

Monthly big brown bat occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in Virginia, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

Year-round in Virginia, with recorded sightings peaking in July–August.

Occurrence map

Where Big Brown Bat has been recorded in Virginia

273 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

273 Virginia records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
Colonial National Historical Park 7
Jefferson National Forest 5
Prince William Forest Park 3
Petersburg National Battlefield 2
Appalachian National Scenic Trail 2
George Washington National Forest 2
Natural Tunnel State Park 2
Goshen and Little North Mountain Wildlife Management Area 2

Protected places with the most big brown bat sightings, from the USGS Protected Areas Database plus named mountain ranges, good spots to look, not a full breakdown, so they don't sum to the total.

Where it's recorded in Virginia

CountyRecords
Fauquier County 30
Rockbridge County 19
Fairfax County 15
Giles County 14
Prince William County 14
James City County 11
Augusta County 10
York County 9
Montgomery County 8
Chesterfield County 8
Alexandria County 7
Floyd County 7
49 other counties 138

The complete county distribution, spread across 61 Virginia counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

Big brown-bat records emphasize western Virginia around the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests and Natural Bridge, then extend east through Piedmont wildlife-management lands toward the Potomac corridor. June through August is the main reporting window, with October notably quiet; roost discoveries and survey effort strongly shape these records, so they should not be treated as bat abundance.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist and GBIF.

Big Brown Bats (Eptesicus fuscus)
Full species profile Big Brown Bat Eptesicus fuscus Size 7.5 cm3 in Weight 17 g0.6 oz Lifespan 19 yr View the full profile

More mammals in Virginia in the atlas

Data & sources

The data and visualizations on this page draw on these open sources:

  • GBIFCC-BY 4.0occurrence records behind the range map, elevation, and record counts
  • iNaturalistCC0 / CC-BY / CC-BY-SAobservations, photos, and audio recordings
  • NatureServe ExplorerCC-BYthe state conservation rank
  • IUCN Red Listattributed factthe global conservation status
  • USGS NASpublic domainnative / introduced status
  • Natural Earthpublic domainthe relief basemap
  • USFSpublic domainnational-forest boundaries
  • USGS Protected Areas Databasepublic domainthe named parks, forests, and refuges behind "notable places to look"