How does echolocation work in bats?

The answer

Bats produce high-frequency ultrasonic calls, typically between 20 and 200 kHz, through their mouth or nose and then analyze the returning echoes to build a detailed three-dimensional map of their surroundings. By measuring the time delay, frequency shift, and intensity differences between the outgoing call and the echo, bats can determine the distance, speed, size, shape, and even texture of objects and prey. Some bats can detect objects as thin as a human hair and catch tiny insects in complete darkness. Remarkably, each bat can distinguish its own calls from thousands of other bats echolocating simultaneously in dense colonies.