A Yellow house bat sitting in a resting position.

 

Light brown above with prominent yellow underbelly, eyes are clearly visible and the snout is short and broad (figures 3 & 4). The forearm length (FA) is 50-58 mm and its mass is about 14-42 g (see figures 1 & 2)¹⁰. Medium-sized bats that are regularly seen in suburban areas flying at dusk.

 

This species is an opportunistic crevice or hollow dweller and usually prefers roofs with a ceiling in suburban areas, hiding between the wooden rafters and brickwork inside the roof. Occasionally they share a home with the smaller Cape serotine bat, and may be distinguished from the latter in flight by its larger wing size and high speed. Colonies living in a house roof will usually not reach more than a dozen bats in Johannesburg, which is indeed a small colony⁸. They may readily occupy a bat house. 

 

Females give birth only once a year to a single young, twins or maybe even triplets. Young are born in the warm summer months any time from October to March¹⁰.