Common vampire bat (Desmodus rotundus)

The common vampire bat, taken from Brehm's Tierleben

Vampire bats is a subfamily of bats. Unlike other bats, vampire bats feed on blood. Currently, there are three species of bats known to do this. All of them live in the Americas, in Mexico, Brazil, Chile and Argentina. Of the three known species, one feeds on the blood of mammals, the other two on the blood of birds.

The common vampire bat lives in large groups, of up to 100 animals. They have developed complex social behaviour.