lO BROOKLYN INSTITUTE MUSEUM. SCIENCE BULLETIN 2. I. 
zling rain is falling one may see half a dozen of them maneuvering 
within the rays of a single electric globe. Not infrequently they fly- 
through open windows into lighted rooms, to the consternation of 
any women who may be present and who fear the bat may become 
ensnarled in their hair, a deep rooted though probably fanciful 
tradition. 
The fact that the Red Bat under the right circumstances, seeks a 
sphere of bright light for its foraging does not signify that the animal 
needs or desires to see its pre)'. Indeed, experiments have shown 
that insectivorous bats rely very little, if at all, upon sight. They 
fly, and avoid obstacles, with unimpaired skill after their eyes have 
been totally destro3'ed, and it is principally their acute hearing, 
together with a tactile sense developed to a degree almost beyond 
human comprehension, which enables them to perceive and locate 
flying insects- Street lights are centers where insects congregate, 
and the food, not the light, is the magnet which draws the bats. 
With all their ability in aerial gymnastics, they do not always 
capture their lively morsels at the first swoop. From the shadow 
of some dense bushes a Red Bat has been seen to make ten unsuccess- 
ful attempts to catch a small white moth under the full glare of an 
electric light- The Bat would dash at the glittering miller and 
strike it with a vicious snap of the teeth, but failing to seize it, would 
recover quickly and strike again, ail the while uttering a low chuck- 
ling sound quite different from the ordinary shrill chatter. 
Sometimes Red Bats fly so low that it is an easy matter to 
collect them with a horse-whip or bamboo pole. In Brooklj^n streets 
they have been seen even skimming the sidewalks and actually 
brushing past the feet of throngs of pedestrians. They know nothing 
of fear, for bats, having been practically without enemies for such 
a long period in their evolution, have lost that instinct which is so 
strongly developed in other vertebrates. It is most astonishing, yet 
perfectly normal, to see a Red Bat after being shot at and missed, 
dive toward the ground in pursuit of the cartridge wad, and rise 
nearby, a mark for the second barrel. They are so thoroughly pro- 
tected both by their habits and their odor that they have few foes 
to fear. Very rarely a bat skull may be found in an ejected owl 
pellet, and they have been known to be caught by cats, but cats will 
not eat them.* 
*"Bats have been found in both owl and hawk pellets a number of times, but only 
rarely in hawks'. They have been found also in the stomachs of large trout, and it goes 
without saying that they are sometimes discovered and eaten by some of the smaller 
predatory carnivores."— C. H. Merriam, MS. 
