Supported by the action of these great leathery wings, the Bat flies about almost incessantly during the twilight, and often late into the night.  In full career its flight is swift, though perfectly noiseless, and it has the power of executing rapid turns and changes of direction with the greatest facility, as required for the capture of its prey, which, in the great majority of cases, consists of the insects of various kinds that in most places fly by night.  In pursuit of these, the Bats flit rapidly about trees, houses, and other buildings, now and then resting by clinging for a moment to the rough surfaces of the walls or the trunks and branches of trees.  Old country church-yards, which are usually full of trees, are naturally favorite haunts of these nocturnal insect-hunters, offering them an excellent field for the chase of their prey, while at the same time, the church itself, with its architectural peculiarities, usually affords them a safe retirement during the day in the dark and secluded corners of its structure.  Hence in the popular mind the Bat has long been associated with the church-yard, that spot so dreaded that few can pass through it after nightfall without experiencing certain peculiar feelings, so that it is no great wonder if a portion of the superstitious fear thus engendered has transferred itself to these frail and harmless creatures, and given them and their companions, the owls, something of an evil reputation.  And it must be confessed that when seen against the light, flitting silently overhead, there is something weird in the Bat’s form, and this is no doubt the reason why, while angels of all kinds are represented with birds’ wings, those of Bats have, by universal consent, always been conferred upon demons, dragons, and similar uncanny creatures.

When it descends from its flight upon the ground or any solid body, the Bat becomes to all intents and purposes a genuine quadruped.  The fingers being drawn together, with the membranes of the wings thrown into folds between them, the whole hand of the creature is brought up parallel to the fore-arm, and so got out of the way, and the animal can then walk more or less easily, its hind legs, though short and rather feeble, being perfectly formed, and the fore limbs, from which the thumbs with their sharp claws now project freely, becoming available for terrestrial progression.  Nevertheless, this progression is generally rather clumsy, as indeed might be expected from creatures so curiously constructed.

While on the wing, our Bats are constantly engaged in the pursuit of the numerous insects of various kinds which, like themselves, are active in the evening and after dark, and of these they must destroy immense quantities.  The swarms of delicate gnats and midges which disport themselves in the most complicated aerial dances, moths of all kinds, and even the hard-shelled beetles, many of which fly about in the evening or at night, fall a prey to these leathern-winged rovers