In Chinese, the word for bat rhymes with the word for good fortune, and discovering one fluttering in your backyard is a portent of happiness and longevity.
So officials from the Agricultural, Fisheries and Conservation Department have plenty to smile about after finding a new species of bat - one of two recently discovered species unique to Hong Kong - roaming the night skies above the northeast New Territories.
A single specimen was captured in September during a survey of bat populations in Plover Cove Country Park, department conservation officer Shek Chung-tong said.
'It is another big discovery. The new species closely resembles the Japanese pipistrelle. In fact, you can't tell the difference in a photograph,' Mr Shek said.
'But it is larger. The Japanese pipistrelle typically has a forearm length of between 31mm and 35mm, but this specimen is bigger with its forearm longer than 50mm. In Asia there are no species described that match these characteristics; therefore we believe it is a new species.'
The specimen will be sent to bat experts overseas for confirmation.