﻿8 Oldham, On some Habits of Bats. 



(3) is incorrect in his description of a bat's gait. He says, 

 " The limbs are moved laterally ; first the thumb on one 

 " side is pushed forward, followed by the corresponding 

 " hind-foot ; then the other foot is raised high and brought 

 " forward, and lastly the wing on that side is advanced." 

 As a matter of fact, as may be seen from the photograph 

 of a Long-eared Bat, the sequence of movements consti- 

 tutes the typical quadrupedal walk. First a hind-foot is 

 advanced, then the fore-limb on the same side, followed 

 by corresponding movements of the hind and fore-limbs 

 on the opposite side. The Lesser Horseshoe Bat, on the 

 other hand, seems to be incapable of walking on a flat 

 surface. I have had several under observation at different 

 times. These groped behind them with their feet, seeking 

 some vertical surface, and readily climbed the side of a 

 wooden box, ascending backwards with the assistance of 

 their thumbs. Their only mode of forward progression 

 was a series of awkward leaps of an inch or so in length, 

 made with wings half spread, and legs extended helplessly 

 backwards. After each leap they fell with a thud prone 

 on the table. When on the flat this species carries the 

 tail erect. 



Another popular error, repeated ad nauseam in works 

 on Natural History, is that bats cannot rise on the wing 

 from a flat surface. All the British species with which I 

 am acquainted take wing with ease, not even running 

 forward to gain an impetus, but springing cleanly into the 

 air as a Mallard does from the surface of a pool. The 

 Lesser Horseshoe Bat is no exception. When lying prone 

 it bounds into the air and is on the wing at once. I have 

 seen one take flight from the bottom of a box three inches 

 deep and not more than five inches wide. 



I have called attention elsewhere (5) to the way in 

 which some of the Vespertilionidae secure their prey by 



