Lasiurus borealis
Silhouette: CJ Campbell · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
The eastern red bat (Lasiurus borealis) is a species of microbat in the family Vespertilionidae. Eastern red bats are widespread across eastern North America, with additional records in Bermuda. It was described in 1776 by German zoologist Philipp Ludwig Statius Müller. He initially placed it in the genus Vespertilio, with the name Vespertilio borealis. It was not placed into its current genus Lasiurus until the creation of the genus in 1831 by John Edward Gray. The generic name "Lasiurus" is derived from the Greek lasios ("hairy") and oura ("tail"); its species name "borealis" is Latin in origin, meaning "northern." Of the species in its genus, the eastern red bat is most closely related to other red bats, with which they form a monophyly. Its closest relatives are the Pfeiffer's red bat (Lasiurus pfeifferi), Seminole bat (L. seminolus), cinnamon red bat (L. varius), desert red bat (L. blossevillii), saline red bat (L. salinae), and the greater red bat (L. atratus).
The eastern red bat has distinctive fur, with males being brick or rusty red, and females being a slightly more frosted shade of red. Both male and female eastern red bats... Wikipedia →
Recording0:16
United States · 2021
© Ty Smith · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Point Pelee National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 2 | Great Smoky Mountains National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Baltimore | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Philadelphia | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Chicago | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | New York City | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Dallas | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Washington | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Boston | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Austin | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ralph Perkins II Wildlife Center and Woods Garden | 🇺🇸 United States |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report an Eastern Red Bat sighting in Great Smoky Mountains National Park on a given day, based on 12 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 15th most-seen of the 27 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.
September and October
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report an Eastern Red Bat in Great Smoky Mountains National Park on a given day, against under 5% in May–August and November–March, the lowest months.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Eastern Red 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.
2nd of 2
Of the 2 parks where we can rate Eastern Red Bat sightings, Great Smoky Mountains National Park ranks 2nd at about 10%. The best odds are in Point Pelee National Park (Canada, about 20%).
Same family: Vespertilionidae
The closest relatives of the Eastern Red Bat that you can see in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (family Vespertilionidae, Evening Bats) are Big Brown Bat (about 10%) and Tricolored Bat (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Eastern Red Bat is recorded against all the mammals logged in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (12 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.
