Northern Red-bat 1189 



noon, while flying to and fro in pursuit of insects near the bor- 

 der of a hardwood grove." 



Whether it has a morning meal-hour as well is not ascer- 

 tained. 



Many observers comment on the readiness of this Bat to 

 enter the house at night and pursue the insects that are at- 

 tracted by the candles. Yarrow says° that in most portions 

 of the United States it would be safe to say that, in any given 

 instance of a Bat entering our rooms in the evening, the chances 

 are a hundred to one of its being either the Red-bat or the 

 Little Brown-bat. 



Dr. Hornaday, after crediting this species with unusual 

 cleverness, adds'" that the only mistake it makes "is in fly- 

 ing into houses through open windows, and instantly forgetting 

 the location of the means of escape. Once in a room, the Bat 

 flies slowly, and frequently is so bewildered by the sudden 

 change from semi-darkness to light, that it strikes a wall and 

 falls to the floor." 



In summer, as we have seen, the Bat invariably roosts in a mi- 



GRANT 



tree. In Manitoba, at least, it certainly does not do so in 

 winter. In summer it is solitary and not known to frequent 

 caves. In winter it is known to gather in vast numbers in the 

 caves of its more southerly range. As far as these facts go, 

 they point to a migration from the northern part of its range 

 and a hibernation in the southern part, a complete change of 

 behaviour in each case accompanying the change of life. 



The segregation of the sexes seems an important rule in 

 Bat life. Dr. E. A. Mearns has supplied some remarkable 

 observations on this head during the migration. Writing from 

 the Hudson Highlands of New York, where this Bat is very 

 abundant in summer, he says:" 



"During the latter part of October and the first week of 

 November I have seen great flights of them during the whole 

 day. In 1876, I noted that all of the individuals shot from any 



" Zoo!., Surv. West of looth Mend., 1875, p. 8g. '° Am. Nat. Hist., igo4, p. 65. 



" Vert. Faun. Hudson Highlands, Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist., 1898, Vol. X, p. 345. 



