times within a few feet of the ground, and conceals itself in the foliage. 



It is well known that the red bat is migratory in habits, spending 

 summers in northern areas and flying south in the autumn. They are 

 not found in the winter in the more northern areas, while their num- 

 bers appear to increase in the south. In Maryland they apparently 

 occur the year round, specimens having been taken in all months 

 from April through December, and in nearby Arlington, Va., on 

 1 March. Whether the same population occurs here in the summer 

 as in the winter is not known. Perhaps the summer population migrates 

 farther south and its place is taken by a more northern population 

 which has migrated in. 



It appears that this bat migrates southward in the fall behind an 

 advancing cold front. David Bridge, a Maryland bird bander, tells 

 me that he often takes red bats in the autumn in his bird nets at Kent 

 Point on Kent Island, Queen Annes County, for several days following 

 the movement of a cold front through the area. 



The red bat is a strong swift flyer. Jackson (1961, p. 96) states that 

 observational timing he made of it would indicate an ordinary 

 straightaway flying speed of near 40 miles per hour. It has sometimes 

 been observed flying far out to sea as much as 500 miles from the 

 nearest land. Usually it migrates at night, but occasionally it is ob- 

 served during the day. A. H. Howell (1908, p. 36) observed over a 



