How Can Bats Control So Accurately Where And How They Fly?

Bats have a great deal of precise control over the movement of their wings through the action of the tendons and arm muscles. The bat can alter the shape of the wings at any moment, giving the bat its remarkable agility in the air.

It can lower the leading edge of each wing and curve the trailing edge down by bending the bones of its fourth and fifth toes. This increases the curve of the wing and gives the bat more lift at slow speeds, allowing it to glide in for the kill before snapping up an insect.

Slow flying species of bat tend to have broader wings than fast flyers, giving them even more scope for altering the wing shape. When a bat beats its wings, most of the movement occurs at the tips. The outer part of each wing, the part furthest from the body, provides most of the forward thrust and the inner part of each wing produces the most lift.