This was the third single from Brooklyn-based indie rock band The National's fourth album, Boxer. The song was written by guitarist Bryce Dessner and features a horn fanfare penned by Padma Newsome, from sister band Clogs.
Here in Alabama, we have 16 bat species. About seventy percent of bats eat insects (insectivores). Most of the rest are frugivores, or fruit eaters. In fact, bats are important pollinators for many plants around the world. A few bat species feed from animals other than insects, like the vampire bat (but there are only 3 species of vampire bats, and they all live far away from Alabama!). All of Alabamaâs bats feed on insects and they really help control mosquitoes and other insects that are harmful to crops. A single little brown bat can eat up to 1,000 mosquito-sized insects in a single hour! Bats are flying mammals in the order Chiroptera (from the Greek words that mean âhand wingâ).
In 1949, the U.S. state of Alabama chose the Southern pine to represent the region. This is a general name for many different species of pine, however, so in 1997, the government chose the longleaf pine, Pinus palustris Miller to become Alabama's state tree. A native of the area, this tree likes to grow in hot climates. The longleaf pine, recognizable by its very long needles, looks like grass for the first few years of its lifespan.