How Bats Fly

Bat Wing Anatomy

Bats belong to a group of animals called Chiroptera (Kir-op-tera), which means "hand wing." Look closely at the structure of a bat's wing, and you'll see why!

Bats are the only mammals capable of true flight. Other mammals like the flying squirrel glide rather than actually fly. As we saw above, a bat’s wing resembles a modified human hand—imagine the skin between your fingers larger, thinner and stretched. This flexible skin membrane that extends between each long finger bone and many movable joints make bats agile fliers.

Aerial Acro-bats

Bats are often seen swooping through the sky at dawn and dusk chasing insects, which are the primary food source for most bats in North America. Catching insects in flight in the dark is no small feat. This trick requires special skills, like echolocation and amazing aerial acrobatics. See this agility on display in the following videos:

Duration:

19 seconds

A big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus) tries to catch a luna moth, but the moth's spinning hindwing tails allow it to escape. Credit: Jesse Barber/Boise State University

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Duration:

10 seconds

A red bat backflips to catch a few moths. Credit: Jesse Barber/Boise State University