Scotomanes ornatus is an insectivorous bat (Eger 2002) and is found in both primary and secondary tropical moist forests, limestone caves (Tu et al. 2019), and in mountainous forested areas up to 2,200 m (S. Bumgrunsri pers. comm.) with mosaic landscapes that have available water sources (Tu et al. 2019). They emerge late and are high (around 10 meters above the ground) fast flyers (Bates and Harrison 1997, Tu et al. 2019) that forage for food around bodies of water (Eger 2002. In lowland forests, the species roosts in foliage in trees and in banana leaves (Smith and Xie 2008, Lekagul and McNeely 1997). The species has a generation length of 5.6 years (Pacifici et al. 2013).

Scotomanes ornatus has a broad distribution including northeastern South Asia, central and southern China and northern parts of Southeast Asia. In South Asia, this species is known from Bangladesh (Sylhet Division), India (Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Sikkim, and West Bengal) and Nepal (Molur et al. 2002, Vanlalnghaka 2020). In Nepal, it has been recorded from an elevation of 1,400 m asl (Molur et al. 2002) and in Thailand it has been recorded up to 2,200 m asl (S. Bumgrunsri pers. comm.). In China, it has been recorded from Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, Anhui, Fujian, Hunan, Guangxi, Guangdong and the island of Hainan (Wang 2003, Smith and Xie 2008). In Southeast Asia, it ranges through northern and western Myanmar, northern Thailand (Lekagul and McNeely 1977, S. Bumrungsri pers. comm.), Lao PDR, and Vietnam (Krusop 2013, Tu et al. 2019, Nguyen et al. 2021). Also, S. ornatus can be found in the Himalayas mountain range (Tu et al. 2019).

The species occurs in protected areas in Vietnam, such as the Huu Lien Nature Preserve (Lunde et al. 2007), Bidoup Nui Ba National Park (Nguyen et al. 2021), Saola Quang Nam Nature preserve (Tu et al. 2019), Hoang Lien National Park, Na Hang Nature Reserve, Ba Be National Park, Phong Nha National Park, Bach Ma National Park, Kon Cha Rang Nature Reserve (Dang Ngoc Can 2008), Cuc Phuong National Park and Copia Nature Preserve (Tu 2012), and in a Watershed Protection Forest in Quang Ngai Providence (Nguyen et al. 2016). The species is also found in the Annapurna Conservation area in Nepal (Area 2019). Educational programs have been implemented in Cat Ba Archipelago Biosphere Reserve, CBABR, in Vietnam for this species (Thong 2007). In Nepal, the species recognized as Endangered National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act 2029 1973 ). Further studies are needed for the distribution, abundance, reproduction, trade, and ecology of this species. Populations of this species should be monitored to record changes in abundance and distribution (Molur et al. 2002). More specifically, options like constant monitoring could be applied (Niraula and Jha 2011).