Mrs be wise and learn of me
The fact that many bats utilize echolocation to find prey is well-known. This ability is well-developed; some bats even dynamically adjust the width of the sound pulse during the pursuit of prey, thereby broadening their field of view without sacrificing attention, useful for capturing erratically-flying prey.
In contrast, much less is known regarding how echolocating bats utilize sensory cues to recognize their habitat, an ability which is clearly important to their survival. (…)
Ornithologists have investigated how echolocating bats differentiate water, often a prominent feature of their habitat, from other surfaces. Their research demonstrates that echolocation is given prominence even in the face of contradictory sensory cues, and further suggests that this recognition ability is innate (not learned).
