The Flight of Noctule and Pipestrelle Bats Compared

Page 1

THE FLIGHT OF NOCTULE A N D PIPISTRELLE BATS COMPARED by

H.

G.

BARRETT and

THE

E A R L OF

CRANBROOK

FOR the past three years we have been capturing noctule bats (Nyctalus noctula) marking, releasing and in a large number of cases recapturing them. (Trans. S.N.S. X I : 3 p. 271, 1959.) Having captured the bats we put them into a coarse fisherman's keep-net the rings of which are 10" in diameter, the whole net 18" deep. In this, and even in a larger net 15" in diameter which we used occasionally, the noctules made no attempt to fly though an occasional individual would climb about inside the net using its hind feet and thumbs but with the fingers separated and wing membrances slightly spread. (When crawling about a bat " walks " on wrist and hind feet, with fingers and wing membrance folded against the forearm.) After climbing about inside the net for a short time they would crawl to the apex from which it was suspended and hang there packed tightly together like a bunch of dark fruit. Having examined the bats, measured, weighed and marked them we released them at the place where they were caught. On a number of occasions we put individual noctules on the ground, the concrete run-way of a disused aerodrome. T h e bats would crawl about on wrists and hind feet for a time, finally lying stationary on the concrete with out-stretched wings. Suddenly they would spring into the air, Aying away immediately. It was certainly a downward thrust of the wings which jerked them into the air but we were unable to see by the light of a torch or car headlights if this was accompanied by a kick off with the hind feet. Our usual practice was to hold the keep-net mouth upwards when the bats would climb up the inside and over the rim to hang by their hind feet from the ring at the mouth. They would then open and shut their wings two or three times finally Aying away, dropping towards the ground as they took Aight. Sometimes a bat would leave the keep-net altogether, climb up the arm, body and even neck and head of the person holding the net until it had climbed to the highest point attainable, when it would Stretch its wings and Ay away. A noctule, in fact, seems to climb as high as it can, when climbing is possible, before taking Aight. If the bats had been in the net for more t h a n a c o u p l e o f h o u r s , as happened when we had eight or a dozen or so to deal with, they were very loath to Ay. T h e same would sometimes happen on a cold night after a shorter period and in both cases we had to throw them high into the air to get them to Ay. When this is done, even on a warm night and with an active bat, a noctule does not


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.