In South Asia, this species roosts in small colonies in lofts of old thatched houses, old disused buildings, disused areas of buildings, mines, tunnels, culverts, wells, hollows of large trees in forested areas, large crevices in walls, and caves on seashores. It has a low, fluttering flight and feeds on small sized beetles and mosquitoes. A single young is born after a gestation period of 150-160 days (Bates and Harrison 1997). Young are raised in maternity colonies that have warm, humid microclimates (Pavey and Burwell 2000). In Southeast Asia, the species has been recorded from lowland and montane primary and secondary forest, over or associated with limestone that provide cave roosts (Heaney et al. 1991, Rickart et al. 1993). They also use human-constructed tunnels for roosting (Sedlock 2001). In New Guinea and Australia, it forages in a wide variety of habitats including rainforest, savannah woodland, mangroves and vine thickets, dry scrub, spinifex grasslands, eucalypt woodland and regrowth forest. It roosts in caves and abandoned mines that have warm microclimates with elevated humidity. Colonies usually comprise a few individuals, but sometimes groups of several hundred individuals can be observed (Flannery 1995, Bonaccorso 1998, Pavey and Burwell 2000, Churchill 2008). Their echolocation call is relatively high in frequency, and in New Guinea and Australia, the characteristic frequency ranges from around 150 kHz to over 170 kHz (K.N. Armstrong unpublished data).

This apparently widespread species ranges from India, through much of Southeast Asia, to the islands of New Guinea and Australia. In South Asia this species is very widely distributed. It is presently known from India (Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Orissa and Tamil Nadu) and Sri Lanka (Eastern, North Central, Southern and Western provinces) (Molur et al. 2002, Aul and Vijaykumar 2003, Srinivasulu and Srinivasulu 2006). In mainland Southeast Asia it is distributed from Myanmar, into Thailand and Peninsular Malaysia. In the Philippines there are records from Balabac (Hill 1963), Bohol, Catanduanes, Cebu, Leyte, Luzon (the provinces of Abra, Benguet (Taylor 1934), Cagayan, Camarines Sur, Laguna, Pampanga, Rizal, and Tarlac), Marinduque (Lawrence 1939), Maripipi, Mindanao, Mindoro, Negros, and Palawan (Heaney et al. 1998). In the remainder of the island-portion of Southeast Asia, it is found in northern parts of Borneo (Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia) and throughout Indonesia (Sumatra, Sulawesi, the Moluccas, the Aru Islands, the islands of Biak-Supiori and Yapen). It is present throughout Papua New Guinea, including the islands of New Britain, New Ireland and the Louisade Archipelago. In Australia, it is present as scattered colonies from the Kimberley region in Western Australia, through the Top End of the Northern Territory, the Gulf Coastal bioregion and Cape York Peninsula in Queensland. There are also apparently isolated colonies on the Mt Isa Inlier bioregion, Blackdown Tablelands and north of Alice Springs. It has been recorded up to 1,700 m asl in Papua New Guinea (Bonaccorso 1998).

Key conservation actions for this species are the protection of known roosting sites in caves, and the identification and protection of additional important roosting sites. Broadscale protection of forests will also help maintain population size in this species. It is present in numerous protected areas but is not explicitly managed. Surveys are required to better define its distribution, assess the relative impacts of threats (especially at maternity sites), establish a monitoring program, assess habitat and ecological requirements, and resolve taxonomic issues so that appropriate levels of attention can be given to taxa that may have a much more limited extent of occurrence (Woinarski et al. 2014).