1917.] 



Lang and Chapin, Field Notes on African Chiroptera. 



521 



The young, as in other bats, clings to the breast of its mother and is thus 

 carried about even during flight. We were rather surprised to see that one, 

 four-fifths the size of its mother and able to fly, was not only carried about 

 occasionally but still depended for its nourishment entirely on sucking, 

 since its stomach contained only milk. As the young grows larger, the 

 mother hunts alone, leaving her offspring hanging to a twig, but on her 

 return it quickly climbs back to its accustomed place on her breast. If the 

 mother is scared away the precious burden is never considered too heavy to 

 carry. 



They are far more diurnal than any other bat we observed, and this 

 has been corroborated by all travellers who have seen them. They seem 

 to have no definite time for sleep, as they proved to be wide awake even when 

 approached cautiously, and do not mind the glare of the sun. When dis- 

 turbed they took wing quickly, turning with such sureness toward another 

 tree that they seemed to have selected long before the branchlets where they 

 wished to cling. 



They were common at Faradje, where they liked to swing from the twigs 

 of rubber trees (Manihot) either by one or both feet. They did not dis- 

 dain protection in the dense foliage, but in December and January often 

 hung on bare twigs, shifting to a more shady place if the direct rays of the 

 sun struck them. Thorny, sparsely-leaved trees, such as acacias, to 

 which they like to cling in eastern Africa, are not numerous in the Uele dis- 

 trict. 



At Faradje many bats hunted every evening; some high in the air 

 over open spots like Taphozous mauritianus, others like Mops showed a 

 liking for the free expanses over the Dungu River, while Eptesicus faradjius 

 kept close to the ground near the houses. All of these had small ears and 

 hair-covered or fleshy muzzles and flew in the open. But it was evident 

 that Lama from affinis derived some genuine advantage from its big, highly 

 sensitive nose-leaves and tremendous ears. No doubt it is also greatly 

 assisted by the fine reticulation of sensory nerves which are extremely well 

 developed in the membranes. It certainly can dodge in and out between 

 the bushes and trees with an ease that calls forth admiration. Starting to 

 forage early, before sunset, it would never remain on the wing in the same 

 constant manner as other bats but alighted very often between mouthful s 

 of tiny, hard-shelled insects. 



Late in January not far from their roosting trees the grass was set afire 

 just about noon. As usual, insects, to escape the advancing flames, tried 

 to hide in great numbers in the grass. These bats would then dive after 

 some of the insects that passed nearest, just as eagerly and skilfully as the 

 birds that snatched them far above the flames. Their method is utterly 



