at Azure Cave on 7 July 1996, 2 males captured at Pond #1 below Azure Cave on 8 July 1996, 5 

 more males captured at the same site the following night, 9 males and 1 female captured at Azure 

 Cave on 22 October 1996, and 5 more males captured there the following night. Other records 

 include 6 males and 1 female captured at Azure Cave on 7 October 1997, 4 males and 2 females 

 captured at Azure Cave on 8 October 1997, 3 individuals seen in Azure Cave on 1 8 April 1998, 

 23 males and 4 females captured at Azure Cave on 16 September 1998, and 16 males and 7 

 females captured at Azure Cave on 17 September 1998. Two males of 15 E. fuscus marked in 

 October 1996 at Azure Cave were recaptured there in October 1997, and one of the 1996 males 

 was recaptured at Azure Cave in September 1998. These records indicate some degree of site 

 fidelity to Azure Cave for this species. Hendricks and Genter (1997) listed this species at 10 

 additional sites (ponds and forested locations) in 1996, based on vocal recordings. There are no 

 published winter records for this species in Montana, and only 1 winter specimen (Ravalli 

 County). 



Corynorhinus townsendii (Townsend's Big-eared Bat) — Butts (1993) was the first to document 

 this species in the Little Rocky Mountains, with 1 female captured at Azure Cave on 29 

 September 1992. Butts also reported 1 1 (sex?) in Azure Cave on 5 March 1993, a female of 

 which was collected. Hendricks and Genter (1997) reported 1 male captured at Azure Cave on 7 

 July 1 996, and vocal recordings from 4 additional sites in July. Other records include 1 male 

 captured at Azure Cave on 8 October 1997, 2 females captured at Azure Cave on 16 September 

 1998, and 6 (sex?) in Azure Cave on 12 November 1998. All reports of this species in Azure 

 Cave have been from near the entrance gate, through the Big Room, to near the bottom of the 40 

 ft drop (Figure 1 ). These records fill a hiatus in the documented distribution in Montana 

 (Hoffmann et al. 1969, Swenson and Shanks 1979). The Little Rocky Mountains is along the 

 northeastern limit of the distribution in the Northern Great Plains, and this species has yet to be 

 reported from Alberta or Saskatchewan (van Zyll de Jong 1985, Smith 1993). 



Lasionycteris noctivagans (Silver-haired Bat) — This species is not yet verified by a captured 

 individual or specimen. Hendricks and Genter (1997) reported it, based on vocal recordings, at 3 

 sites below Azure Cave, and also at the mouth of Two Hands Cave, all on 9 July 1996. This 

 species tends to use tree cavities for roosts, so its absence from trapping samples at Azure Cave 

 is not surprising. The species is widespread across the state in summer, apparently migrating out 

 of Montana during winter. 



Lasiurus cinereus (Hoary Bat) — Hendricks and Genter (1997) were the first to report this 

 species from the Little Rocky Mountains. Two males and 2 females (lactating) were captured at 

 Pond #1 below Azure Cave on 9 July 1996. Other records (Hendricks and Genter 1997), based 

 on vocal recordings, include 3 other ponds on 7 and 8 July 1996. These records fill a large hiatus 

 in the known distribution for Montana. 



