Bat

Bat

Health points	6 ()
Attack strength	None
Spawn	Below layer 63, light level of 4 or less On October 20-November 3: below layer 63, light level of 7 or less
First appearance	12w38a
Network ID	65
Savegame ID	Bat
Drops	None
Experience	0

Bats are passive mobs that spawn naturally in caverns or other large enclosed spaces. Bats are the only passive mob able to fly, and the only flying mob that naturally spawns in the Overworld. They will often emit a squeaking noise, but do not do many other things that can affect gameplay. They do not drop any items or XP when killed, making it the most 'insignificant' mob in the game.

[edit] Appearance

Bats are visually the third smallest mob in the game, being only slightly larger than baby chickens and Silverfish. They are hard to see in the unlit environment in which they reside. They have dark brown skin, wings and little feet.

[edit] Spawning

Bats are the only passive mob to spawn in darkness. They can also be spawned with their spawn egg.

Naturally spawning bats do not require a large cave. Though caves are the most likely location, they may also spawn inside an unlit house if its interior are large and dark enough. On superflat worlds, bats have spawned in unlit spaces as small as 1x1, possibly because the code that spawns them cannot find another suitable location.

Bats will not spawn on glass or slabs. Since bats can only spawn in low light, similar to most hostile mobs, the existence of bats may indicate an underground cave even on peaceful difficulty.

[edit] Behavior

Bats sleep during the day and become active at night. A bat will hang upside down when it is idle, but once the player approaches, the bat will fly away. Bats cannot hang on transparent or non-solid blocks. When placed in a minecart, bats can move the minecart around on their own.

A lot of times, Bats will squeak (similar to its real life function of echolocation). By listening for bat squeaks, the player might sometimes be able to find caverns, which can be useful for obtaining resources.

Although the bat is a passive mob, they still despawn when going too far away, like hostile mobs and Zombie Pigmen.

Bats do not seem to care about lava, and if there are lava streams coming from the ceiling, they may fly into one and burn up. Most bats, however, are safe from lava, both because lava streams are uncommon and because lava gives off light, and bats spawn in the dark.

[edit] History

[edit] Issues

Issues relating to "Bat" are maintained on Mojira. Report issues there.

[edit] Trivia

• In the code, bats are their own type of mob. This allows them to despawn.
• Despite the conditions being hard to find normally, it is possible for bats to drown if trapped in water.
• Bats seem to be able to spawn in mushroom biomes, as they are their own type of mob.
• Since bats use echolocation to "see", they will notice players even when they are invisible.
• Bats tend to fly to the east whenever given a choice.
• Bats are now a neutral mob, but only in hardcore mode.(but sometimes they are neutral in offline mode)
• Bats are one of the few mobs that fly, the others being Ghasts, Blazes, the Wither, and the Ender Dragon.
• Bats do not drop any XP when killed.

[edit] Gallery

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  A colony of spawned bats and a witch.

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  A bat hanging from a stone block.

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  A bat in a cave.

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  A bat up close hanging from a cobblestone block.

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  isolated and flipped