34 THE WORLD OF ANIMAL LIFE 



the bat wakes up, and goes out to hunt for insects as before. 

 And it catches and eats them in such numbers, that it soon 

 makes up for its long fast. 



Let us examine the construction of the bat's wings. For a very 

 long time people thought that the bat was a kind of bird, because 

 it can fly through the air. But if you catch one and look at it, 

 you will see at once that it is not like a bird at all. 



It has no feathers, for instance, as all birds have; and its wings 

 are quite different from those of a bird, and remind one very much 

 of a boy's kite. They consist of a light framework of bone, upon 

 which is stretched a thin but strong membrane, which answers to 

 the linen of the kite. 



This framework, strange to say, is made of the bones of the 

 bat's hand or fore-paw! If we carefully strip the skin away from 

 one of the wings, we shall find that the bones of the fore-limbs 

 are light and slender, but nevertheless very strong. Those of the 

 fingers, however, are drawn out, as it were, to such a length, that 

 a bat's middle finger is sometimes longer than its whole body! 

 These long and slender bones form the framework of the wing, 

 just as the thin cross-laths make the framework of the kite. 



The membrane that is spread upon them is really the skin of 

 its body very much stretched out, so as to form large, broad wings. 

 If you look at a picture of a bat's skeleton, you will see that this 

 skin stretches over not only the fore-legs, but the hinder-legs as 

 well ; and that it even runs on behind these and joins the tail. 



When a bat is not using its wings it can fold them up, just as 

 a lady folds up her fan. It packs them closely against its sides 

 when they are at rest. 



On each wing, if you look closely, you will see a tiny hook-like 

 claw. This is really the claw, or nail, of the thumb; and the bat 

 uses it to drag itself along, when it is crawling upon the ground. 



The bat guides its course by means of its tail, which serves as a 

 kind of rudder. Every boat has at its stern a flat piece of wood, 

 which can be turned to one side or the other in the water, and 

 which causes the boat to turn also. That is the rudder. The tail 

 of a bat, like that of a bird, is an «/;'-rudder, and can be turned to 

 either side in just the same way. 



