The evening sky deepens into night. Birds return to their roosts, and many other animals quietly nestle into their burrows. But some creatures are just waking up. Dark shapes flutter across the sky, suddenly turning, diving, swooping. Bats are beginning to hunt.

This is the story of the Little Brown Bat, one of the most common bats in North America. For its small size, this species has a very long life span--sometimes more than thirty years. Its scientific name is Myotis lucifugus. These Latin words mean "mouse-eared" and "light-fleeing."