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).
Some of our bats migrate in the winter and others, such as the big brown and little brown bats, hibernate over the winter in caves, hollow trees and buildings. Bats are usually active as long as the evening temperatures stay above 50 degrees. The females give birth in spring and 3-4 weeks later the babies can fly. Surprising to most people is that bats can live a long time, with some species living 30 years or more. This is important to note since bats will come back to the same roosting spot year after year.