Rufous Horse-shoe Bat (Rhinolophus rouxii)

Rufous Horseshoe Bat is a common bat occurs from forested parts of the low country to the lower hills (500 m a.s.l) while becoming scarce above 1300 m a.s.l. It roosts day time in caves, old buildings, barns and dark culverts as large colonies of same species or sometime with other species of bats such as Schneider’s leaf-nosed bat (Hipposideros speoris), Long-eared false vampire bat(Megaderma spasma) and Bi-colored leaf-nosed bat (Hipposideros ater). But roosting single individuals or small parties are also not uncommon in such places. It emerges late in the evening from the roosting site and catch small flying insects (Moths, Beetles etc.) by flying about 3-4 feet above the ground below trees or sometime darting at the prey from a perched position in a low bushes. This bat occurs in two color forms,  brown and orange, while later color phase bats are much common during the winter months of the northern hemisphere (Yapa A. & Ratnavira G., 2013). 

කොටිකන් වවුලා[Kotikan Waula]/Great horse-shoe Bat/Lesser Woolly Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus beddomei sobrinus)

Great horse-shoe bat is restricted to forested areas of both wet and dry zone lowlands. However a specimen from Madamahanwara (1077m a.s.l ) was also collected ( Bats of  the Indian Subcontinent – P.j.j. Bates and D.L. Harrison, 1997). It spends the day time hanging by one foot, with their wings wrapped around them in a hollow tree or a small cave. Great horse-shoe Bat lives solitary, in pairs or as small parties of up to three individuals. It emerges in the late evening from its diurnal roost and flies low over the ground among low bushes and along jungle paths in seeking of its prey which consists of beetles, termites and other flying insects. Race sobrinus is endemic to Sri Lanka.