Uroderma bilobatum
Silhouette: Roberto Díaz Sibaja · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
The tent-making bat (Uroderma bilobatum) is an American leaf-nosed bat (Phyllostomidae) found in lowland forests of Central and South America. This medium-sized bat has a gray coat with a pale white stripe running down the middle of the back. Its face is characterized by a fleshy nose-leaf and four white stripes. Primarily a frugivore, it may supplement its diet with insects, flower parts, pollen, and nectar. Its common name comes from its behavior of constructing tents out of large, fan-shaped leaves. These roosts provide excellent protection from the tropical rains, and a single tent roost may house several bats at once. This bat is quite common in its geographic range; hence, its conservation status is listed as Least Concern.
The bat Uroderma bilobatum is a member of the family Phyllostomidae, which contains 49 genera and a greater variety in feeding habits than any other bat family. Carnivores, frugivores, and bats that specialize on blood or nectar and pollen are all represented in this family. Commonly known as the American leaf-nosed bats, phyllostomids are characterized by a special structure consisting of a leaf-shaped projection extending up from a "horseshoe... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manuel Antonio National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 2 | Piedras Blancas National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 3 | Carara National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 4 | Tayrona National Natural Park | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 5 | Soberanía National Park | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 6 | Corcovado National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 7 | Arenal Volcano National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 8 | Parque Natural Metropolitano | 🇵🇦 Panama |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Panama City | 🇵🇦 Panama |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vancouver Aquarium | 🇨🇦 Canada |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Common tent-making Bat sighting in Arenal Volcano National Park on a given day, based on 10 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 14th most-seen of the 25 mammals we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February–March, May, August–September and November
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Common tent-making Bat in Arenal Volcano National Park on a given day, against under 5% in April, June–July, October and December–January, the lowest months.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Common tent-making Bat sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
7th of 8
Of the 8 parks where we can rate Common tent-making Bat sightings, Arenal Volcano National Park ranks 7th at about 10%. The best odds are in Manuel Antonio National Park (Costa Rica, about 30%), Piedras Blancas National Park (Costa Rica, about 30%) and Carara National Park (Costa Rica, about 10%).
Same order: Chiroptera
The closest relatives of the Common tent-making Bat that you can see in Arenal Volcano National Park (order Chiroptera, Bats) are Thomas's Shaggy Bat (about 10%), Proboscis Bat (about 10%) and Greater Sac-winged Bat (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Common tent-making Bat is recorded against all the mammals logged in Arenal Volcano National Park (10 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
