Editing Spectral bat (section)

===Foraging===
[[File:Spectral bat.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Taxidermied]] spectral bat "consuming" a mouse]]
The spectral bat uses [[animal echolocation#Bats|echolocation]] to navigate, creating short pulses of [[ultrasound]] at relatively low frequencies; its echolocation characteristics are suited for maneuvering around obstacles while flying low to the ground.<ref name="Navarro 1982"/> Its foraging style has been compared to [[owl]]s; it likely uses its agile and maneuverable wings to hover as it plucks prey items off the ground or tree branches.<ref name="Peterson 1969"/> It stalks the prey and then lands on it from above, securing the prey by hooking it with its sharp thumb claws.<ref name="Morell 2018">{{cite web|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2018/07/ancient-temple-reveals-secrets-of-mexicos-meat-eating-bats/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180703153229/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2018/07/ancient-temple-reveals-secrets-of-mexicos-meat-eating-bats/|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 3, 2018|title=Ancient Temple Reveals Secrets of Mexico's Meat-Eating Bats|last=Morell| first=Virginia|date=July 2018|website=National Geographic|publisher=National Geographic Society|access-date=17 August 2018}}</ref> It kills its prey by delivering a forceful bite to the skull.<ref name="Greenhall 1968">{{cite journal|doi=10.2307/1378008|jstor=1378008|title=Notes on the Behavior of the False Vampire Bat|journal=Journal of Mammalogy|volume=49|issue=2|pages=337–340|year=1968|last1=Greenhall|first1=Arthur M}}</ref> Relative to its size, its [[Bite force quotient|bite force]] is stronger than any [[Carnivora]]n.<ref name="Sharlene 2016"/> Its bite force is predicted to measure 80&ndash;100 [[Newton (unit)|Newtons]] based on its body size and canine teeth characteristics.<ref name="Freeman 2009">{{cite journal|last1=Freeman| first1= P. W.| last2= Lemen| first2= C. A.| year=2009| title= Puncture-Resistance of Gloves for Handling Bats| journal= The Journal of Wildlife Management| volume= 73| issue=7| pages= 1251–1254|url=http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1117&context=museummammalogy| doi= 10.2193/2008-295| s2cid= 15877222| url-access= subscription}}</ref> It has been recorded as being attracted to the distress calls of smaller bats while hunting.<ref name="Reid 2009">{{cite book| last=Reid| first= F.| year=2009| title= A field guide to the mammals of Central America and Southeast Mexico| publisher= Oxford University Press| isbn=978-0195343229| pages=104–105}}</ref>

In a study of the wing [[morphology (biology)|morphology]] of 51 [[Neotropical realm|Neotropical]] bat species, the spectral bat had the lowest [[wing loading]] (body mass to wing area ratio) at 20.05.<ref name="Marinello 2014">{{cite journal|doi=10.1139/cjz-2013-0127|title=Wing morphology of Neotropical bats: A quantitative and qualitative analysis with implications for habitat use|journal=Canadian Journal of Zoology|volume=92|issue=2|pages=141|year=2014|last1=Marinello|first1=M.M|last2=Bernard|first2=E|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/263540593}}</ref> Low wing loading is [[Bat flight#Carnivory|advantageous for carnivorous bats]] because it allows them to pick up prey items from the ground and fly with them.<ref name="Norberg 1987">{{cite journal|doi=10.1098/rstb.1987.0030 |title=Ecological Morphology and Flight in Bats (Mammalia; Chiroptera): Wing Adaptations, Flight Performance, Foraging Strategy and Echolocation |journal=Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |volume=316 |issue=1179 |pages=335 |year=1987 |last1=Norberg |first1=U. M |last2=Rayner |first2=J. M. V |bibcode=1987RSPTB.316..335N |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/252581662|doi-access= }}</ref> Its wing structure allows it to take flight in confined spaces and to carry heavy prey items, despite the bat's size. Males will carry prey back to their roosts to provision females and their pup.<ref name="Vehrencamp 1977"/>