California mammals

Big Free-tailed Bat in California

Nyctinomops macrotis

Native to California S3 Vulnerable in California

Not listed as nonindigenous in California by USGS NAS; native to its California 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 free-tailed bat clinging to tree bark with long ears and narrow wings visibleBig free-tailed bat roosting among branches with its broad ears facing forwardBig free-tailed bat resting on a pale rock wall with tail extending beyond the membraneBig free-tailed bat roosting low among leaves and rocks
Photo: RatioTile · CC BY-SA 4.0Big free-tailed bat clinging to tree bark with long ears and narrow wings visiblePhoto: NPS Photo · Public domainBig free-tailed bat roosting among branches with its broad ears facing forwardPhoto: Juan Cruzado Cortes · CC BY-SA 4.0Big free-tailed bat resting on a pale rock wall with tail extending beyond the membranePhoto: Juan Cruzado Cortes · CC BY-SA 4.0Big free-tailed bat roosting low among leaves and rocks

Big Free-tailed Bat in California, by the numbers

Rare in California 213th most recorded of 241 mammals logged in California

37 occurrence records
10 with iNaturalist photos

Records from 2000–2026.

37 total records count every California occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the monthly chart covers the 36 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the Big Free-tailed Bat in California

Most sightings fall in October to December.

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

Monthly California records (table)
MonthRecords
January2
February3
March2
April1
May2
June0
July0
August0
September1
October7
November10
December8

Monthly big free-tailed bat occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in California, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

Year-round in California, with recorded sightings peaking in October–December.

Occurrence map

Where Big Free-tailed Bat has been recorded in California

37 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

37 California records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
Angeles Other 1
Montaña de Oro State Park 1

Protected places with the most big free-tailed 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 California

CountyRecords
San Diego County 18
Los Angeles County 7
Santa Barbara County 1
Orange County 1
Imperial County 1
San Mateo County 1
Riverside County 1
San Luis Obispo County 1
Contra Costa County 1
Other localities 5

The complete county distribution, spread across 9 California counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

Big Free-tailed Bat records in California fit dry scrub, rocky canyons, and sandy or gravelly ground.

Reports center on the Mojave and Colorado deserts, including Death Valley and the Joshua Tree region. They show where people have documented the species, and they don’t rank California’s best habitat.

California records span more than one season. Gaps and clusters in reports can reflect when and where people looked, not true absence or abundance.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist and GBIF.

Big free-tailed bat clinging to tree bark with long ears and narrow wings visible
Full species profile Big Free-tailed Bat Nyctinomops macrotis Size 12–16 cm4.7–6.3 in Weight 21 g0.7 oz View the full profile

More mammals in California 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"