Red Bats are truly swift fliers, capable of attaining a straight- 
away velocity of perhaps eighteen miles an hour- Ocean Avenue, 
in Brooklyn, is one of their favorite haunts, as it is also a favorite 
boulevard for motorists ; and here, on summer evenings, Mr. Murphy 
has seen bats overtake and leave behind the automobiles beneath 
them. In man)' cases they seemed to go twice as fast as the machines 
and there is reason to believe that very few of the latter were 
within a speed limit of eight miles per hour- 
Red Bats not onlj' feed on the wing, but carry on even their 
mating while they fly. An instance of the copulation of this species 
in the air was recorded many years ago as having occurred m 
Massachusetts during the month of October. Many recent writers, 
however, having no corroboration of the incident, and realizing that 
other bats mate in a different manner, have declined to accept the 
original observation as correct. There is, nevertheless, no doubt 
of the truth of it. In the late afternoon of August 6, 191 1, Mr. Henry 
Thurston, of Floral Park, Long Island, saw two Red Bats join in 
flight. One of them made several attempts to alight upon the other 
and, finally succeeding, they remained together about half a minute, 
flying unsteadily the while, with all four wings beating. On the fol- 
lowing evening at the same place Mr- Thurston shot two when they 
were apparently attempting the act of coition- This pair came into 
Mr. Murphy's hands next day. As is usual, the female was somewhat 
larger than the male. On August 23, at Floral Park, Mr. Murphy saw 
two Red Bats act in a similar inanner. althottgh in this case they re- 
mained joined only a few moments, and passed out of sight as they 
parted. Other observers, among whom Dr. A. K. Fisher of Washing- 
ton is one, have since then related to him instances from their ex- 
perience confirming the deduction that aerial copulation is the rule 
with this species. It would seem, moreover, that the mating season 
begins earlier than with most bats. 
The young are found clinging either to the mother or to the 
trunks or branches of trees where they have been temporarily aban- 
doned. They number usually two or three, but litters of four are 
not unknown, and still more rarely only one is born- The mothers 
show much solicitude for their oftspring, and have been known to 
pursue and alight on persons who were carrying the babes away- 
After all, how little we know of our nearest neighbors! Red 
Bats flutter about our heads on summer nights, and we dodge; they 
