The Amazing World of Bats

All About Bats

Bats are interesting creatures.

Bats are shy and gentle animals. Some people are afraid of bats. That is usually because they don't know these facts about bats.

Bats are mammals

Bats are the only mammals that can fly. A mammal is a warm-blooded animal that has fur or hair on its body. Female mammals feed their babies milk from their bodies. A baby bat is called a pup.

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Bats are night animals

ReadWorks.org · © 2017 ReadWorks®, Inc. All rights reserved. Copyright © 2009 Weekly Reader Corporation. All rights reserved. Used by permission.Weekly Reader is a registered trademark of Weekly Reader Corporation. All About Bats Bats are nocturnal. That means they sleep during the day and are active at night. Bats sleep hanging upside down. Most bats live in caves and trees. A bat's home is called a roost.

Bats are helpers

Most bats feed on insects. One bat can eat hundreds of insects in an hour! Without bats, those insects would eat crops that farmers grow.

Some bats eat fruits. They drop seeds in different places. That helps new plants grow.

Definition noun 1. a living person or animal.

Owls, bats, and birds are creatures that can fly.

Advanced Definition noun 1. a living being, either human or animal.

2. a person who is subservient to or dependent upon another.

The young man became his boss's creature.

Spanish cognate criatura: The Spanish word criatura means creature.

These are some examples of how the word or forms of the word are used:

1. Over time, that creature evolved into all of the animals we know today. 2. About two weeks later, a new creature pops out of the chrysalis. 3. A porcupine fish is one type of sea creature that lives in the oceans. 4. Each sea creature uses a different skill to survive. 5. A virus is a tiny creature that invades the body. 6. He thought that all life began as one kind of creature. 7. The creature is one of a group called terror birds. 8. A fisherman caught the blue creature two years ago and donated it to a nature center in Bristol, Rhode Island. 9. The water strider is the only creature that can walk on still or running water. 10. It was a beautiful golden creature with dark brown spots and a very, very long neck.

ReadWorks.org · © 2017 ReadWorks®, Inc. All rights reserved. Definitions and sample sentences within definitions are provided by Wordsmyth. © 2015 Wordsmyth. All rights reserved. ReadWorks Vocabulary - mammal mammal mam·mal

Definition noun 1. an animal that has hair and feeds its babies with milk from the mother.

Dogs, whales, and humans are mammals.

Advanced Definition noun 1. any of the vertebrate animals that feed their babies with milk from the female mammary glands and usu. produce live young, as opposed to laying eggs.

Although whales resemble fish, they are in fact mammals.

Spanish cognate mamífero: The Spanish word mamífero means mammal.

These are some examples of how the word or forms of the word are used:

1. Mammals, reptiles, and birds all have lungs. 2. Bats are mammals. Mammals are warm-blooded animals that have hair on their bodies. 3. Whales are big ocean mammals. Mammals are animals that drink milk from their mothers. 4. A mammal is an animal that has hair on its body. Mammals are warm-blooded. 5. The African elephant is the largest living land mammal, and the ostrich is the largest living bird. 6. The only fish Liza liked were dolphins, except her teacher told her that dolphins were mammals, not fish. 7. Every dog is a mammal. All mammals have hair on their bodies. People, horses, and elephants are also mammals. 8. The Mississippi is home to all kinds of animals. More than 250 types of fish and at least fifty kinds of mammals live along the river. 9. Bats are the only mammals that can fly. A mammal is a warm-blooded animal that has fur or hair on its body. Female mammals feed their babies milk from their bodies. 10. Marsupials are a special kind of mammal. Marsupials have hair like other mammals. They give birth to live babies. They make milk to feed their young. But marsupials have something that makes them different from other mammals.

Advanced Definition adjective 1. of, concerning, or occurring in the night.

a nocturnal raid

nocturnal fears

2. active at night.

nocturnal jungle creatures

3. of certain flowers, opening at night. (Cf. diurnal.)

Spanish cognate nocturno: The Spanish word nocturno means nocturnal.

These are some examples of how the word or forms of the word are used:

1. Bats, owls, and flying squirrels are nocturnal. 2. In their native habitat, Burmese pythons are nocturnal carnivores. 3. Many nocturnal animals can see clearly in the dark.

Name: ______Date: ______1. In what position do bats sleep?

2. Where do most bats live?

3. Why could bats be considered helpers?

4. What is this passage mostly about?

5. The question below is an incomplete sentence. Choose the word that best completes the sentence.

Bats can fly, ______other mammals cannot.

A. because B. but C. so

6. Which animal is NOT nocturnal?