Silvery-bat 1175 



A past master in the air and fairly active on tree trunk and swim- 

 ground, the Silvery-bat rounds out its accomplishments by ^^^° 

 swimming fairly well. Dr. Merriam speaks of shooting some 

 of them over the river at Lyon's Falls, N. Y. : 



"Several that were wounded and fell into the water^ [says 

 he], at a distance of 15 or 20 feet from the bank, swam ashore. 

 They swam powerfully and swiftly, for the current is here quite 

 strong, and would otherwise have carried them some distance 

 down stream." 



This remark will doubtless be found applicable to all our 

 Bats, as their European relatives, without exception, are known 

 to be strong swimmers, though they never voluntarily take to 

 the water. 



There is no doubt a host of creatures that would destroy enemies 

 the Bat if they could catch it, but safe in its cave by day and 

 safe on its wings by night, it stands in awe of very few. A 

 record in Fisher's "Food of Hawks and Owls" (p. 178) shows 

 that the winged tiger of the woods does indeed prey on this 

 Bat, but there is no telling how it secured the squeaker of the horned 

 lightning wing. It may have been an accident or it may be 

 there is a weird unwritten chapter of o^l audacity awaiting the 

 careful student of birds. 



It is well known that an exceptionally dull day or afternoon moon- 



T ICHX 



will temper the light down to the requisites of the Bats, and 

 bring many forth long before their appointed hour. There 

 is every reason to suppose that moonlight may similarly 

 change their habits; but hitherto we have no observations to 

 prove it. 



Beginning at the vernal equinox and continuing all sum- depart 

 mer long, the Silvery-bats go skimming over the broad Red 

 River where it mirrors the tall buildings of Winnipeg; darting 

 and wheeling like swallows of the gloom, enlivening bank and 

 sky, and retiring between times to the shelter of the lumber 



« Ibid., p. 188. 



OWL 



URE 



