In bats, what is the sound-based prey-finding process called?

In bats, the sound-based prey-finding process is called echolocation.

During echolocation, a bat emits brief sounds and analyzes returning echoes. The timing, direction and frequency of those echoes provide information about nearby objects, including prey, obstacles and surfaces. Many insect-eating bats produce ultrasonic calls, meaning frequencies above the usual range of human hearing.

Echolocation is not identical across all bats. Some fruit bats rely more heavily on vision and smell, while many microbats use sophisticated sonar to hunt insects in darkness. The calls can change as a bat approaches prey, often becoming shorter and more rapid during the final pursuit.

Bats are not the only animals to echolocate. Toothed whales, including dolphins, use a different but related acoustic strategy underwater. A common mix-up is treating echolocation as hearing alone; it requires both sound production and interpretation of returning echoes.