598 



THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



perature in the shade was 82 degrees Fahren- 

 heit. I have found them in northern IlHnois 

 in the glaring sunliglit of May, hanging from 

 leaves in the tops of oak trees. This unusual 

 tolerance of light in a member of the bat tribe 

 is further shown by its habit of beginning to 

 hunt through the air for insects earlier in the 

 afternoon than other species in its range. 



Long, narrow wings and swift, powerful flight 

 characterize the red bats in the air. They have 

 marvelous control in darting and turning here 

 and there, and no birds, except possibly the 

 chimney swifts, can equal them in their extra- 

 ordinary gyrations. 



Red bats are known to migrate from the 

 northern part of their range in September or 

 October and to return in May. They have been 

 seen going south at Cape Cod the last of 

 August and in September; and late in October 

 Dr. E. A. Mearns has recorded great flights of 

 them down the Hudson Valley, lasting through- 

 out the day. That they share the vicissitudes 

 of migrating birds is indicated by observation 

 on the New Jersey coast of stray individuals 

 coming in from the sea exhausted early on 

 September mornings. 



They are among the most solitary of their 

 kind, usually being found hanging singly on a 

 tree or bush, sometimes within a few feet of 

 the ground. On occasion they gather in clust- 

 ers as mentioned above, and in one instance in 

 Maryland more than a dozen were hanging in 

 a compact ball, which suddenly exploded into 

 its winged parts when disturbed. 



One of the most unusual characteristics of 

 the red bat is found in the number of young 

 it bears. Usually other species, except the 

 hoary bat, have one or two young, but at vary- 

 ing dates between May and July each year the 

 red bat produces from two to four, the average 

 being three or four. The young when very 

 small are carried clinging to the body of the 

 mother in her flights. She continues to take 

 them from place to place in this manner until 

 their combined weight exceeds her own. The 

 strength of the maternal feeling in this species 

 is well illustrated by an instance in Philadelphia 

 where a boy caught a half -grown red bat in a 

 city square and carried it home. In the even- 

 ing, three hours later, he crossed the same 

 square, carrying the young bat in his hand, 

 when the old one came circling about him and 

 finally in her deep anxiety alighted on his 

 breast. Both were brought in, the young one 

 clinging to its mother's teat. The devoted 

 mother received injuries when she was cap- 

 tured, from which she died two days later. 



In the contact between mankind and bats, 

 man, the invariable aggressor, finds the bats 

 baring their teeth, biting viciously, squeaking, 

 and behaving altogether like little fiends. A 

 gentler side is sometimes exhibited, however, 

 and one observer who caught a partly grown 

 red bat found that it became tame, shovyed in- 

 telligence, and developed a friendly feeling for 

 its captor. 



THE HOARY BAT (Nycteris cinereus) 



The hoary bat is a close relative of the red 

 bat described above, but is larger, about five 

 inches long, and, as its name implies, is of a 

 different color. It is widely distributed over a 

 large part of North America, where it is known 

 to breed from Nova Scotia, Manitoba, and the 

 southern shore of Great Slave Lake south prac- 

 tically throughout the United States. It is 

 one of our larger species and is remarkable for 

 its power and skill on the wing. The wings 

 are long and narrow and carry their owner 

 through the air in a bewildering series of 

 swoops, curves, and zigzag turns remarkable 

 even in a group of animals so notable for their 

 powers of flight. 



With the approach of cold weather the hoary 

 bat migrates from the northern parts of its 

 range to the milder southern districts. It is a 

 late migrant, not leaving its northern home 

 until the last of September or October and re- 

 turning in May. Some individuals appear to 

 remain in the North all winter, as one has been 

 taken in Connecticut in December. In its south- 

 ern flight it wanders as far as Jalisco, near the 

 southern end of the Mexican table-land, to 

 Lower California, and to the Bermuda Islands. 

 To reach the Bermudas it is evident the bat 

 must make a continuous flight from the nearest 

 point on our shores of at least 580 miles — a 

 good tribute to its wing power. 



Like the red bat, it lives in the open, hanging 

 from twigs and leaves in the tops of trees or 

 bushes in the broad light of day rather than in 

 the dark, stifling crevices where so many of its 

 kind pass their lives. It appears to hang up 

 indifferently on any convenient tree or bush, 

 including conifers, aspens, or willows. During 

 the day it has a curious lack of alertness, and 

 as it is not rarely attached to low branches or 

 bushes within a few feet of the ground it may 

 be readily approached and taken in the hand. 

 I once captured a fine specimen the middle of 

 May, in southern California, hanging on a bush 

 about four feet from the ground. It appeared 

 to be sound asleep until taken by the skin on 

 the back of the neck, when it became very much 

 alive and, struggling in a fury, uttered grating 

 shrieks of rage, baring its sharp, white teeth 

 and trying desperatcl}' to bite. 



Its food is made up entirely of insects, which 

 it appears to hunt higher up than most bats, 

 sweeping over the tops of the forest and in and 

 out about the trees. It appears to be of even 

 more solitary habits than the red bat and is 

 nowhere so common. Another reason for our 

 lack of information concerning it is found in 

 its strictly nocturnal habits, for it rarely ap- 

 pears until shortly before the approaching 

 night hides it from view. 



The hoary bat shares with the red species 

 the distinction of bearing from two to four 

 young each year. The young are born in June 

 and are carried attached to the underside of 

 the mother's body until they become too heavy 



