A bat is a flying ambient[1] passive mob that spawns in dark areas underground.
Spawning[]
Bats can spawn in groups of 8[JE only]/2[BE only] in the Overworld at a light level of 3 or less on opaque blocks below layer 63. They also need at least 2 air blocks (or alternatively, a top trapdoor or top slab in the block above foot level). In Java Edition, between October 20 and November 3, they require a light level of 6 or less to spawn. On Superflat worlds, bats spawn below the top non-air layer, ignoring the usual layer-63 limitation.
Drops[]
Bats do not drop any items or experience upon death.
Behavior[]
Bats are small, less than a block tall and wide. They squeak randomly. They often fly around aimlessly, tending to favor the east, and sometimes fly into lava and catch on fire.
Bats hang upside down on the underside of a solid block when idle, though they cannot hang on transparent or non-solid blocks. If a player approaches a bat hanging upside down, even if the player is invisible, it flies away. This also happens if the player breaks the block the bat is hanging from.
Bats despawn when too far away from the player (over 32 blocks away).
Bats' collision boxes do not interact with the player or redstone components.
Sounds[]
Java Edition:
Bats use the Friendly Creatures sound category for entity-dependent sound events.
| Sound | Subtitles | Source | Description | Resource location | Translation key | Volume | Pitch | Attenuation distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bat screeches | Friendly Creatures | Randomly while flying | entity | subtitles | 0.1 | 0.76-1.14 | 16 | |
| Bat dies | Friendly Creatures | When a bat dies | entity | subtitles | 0.1 | 0.76-1.14 | 16 | |
| Bat hurts | Friendly Creatures | When a bat is damaged | entity | subtitles | 0.1 | 0.76-1.14 | 16 | |
| None[sound 2] | None | Unused sound event [sound 1] | entity | None[sound 2] | None | None | None | |
| Bat takes off | Friendly Creatures | When a bat starts flying | entity | subtitles | 0.05 | 0.8-1.2 | 16 |
| Sound | Source | Description | Resource location | Volume | Pitch |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Friendly Creatures | Randomly | mob | 0.1 | 0.76-1.14 | |
| Friendly Creatures | When a bat dies | mob | 0.1 | 0.76-1.14 | |
| Friendly Creatures | When a bat is damaged | mob | 0.1 | 0.76-1.14 | |
| Friendly Creatures | When a bat starts flying | mob | 0.05 | 0.8-1.2 |
Data values[]
ID[]
| Name | Identifier | Translation key |
|---|---|---|
| Bat | bat | entity.minecraft.bat |
| Name | Identifier | Numeric ID | Translation key |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bat | bat | 19 | entity.bat.name |
Entity data[]
Bats have entity data associated with them that contain various properties.
- Entity data
- Tags common to all entities
- Tags common to all mobs
- BatFlags: 1 or 0 (true/false) - true if the bat is hanging upside-down from a block, false if the bat is flying.
History[]
| Java Edition | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.4.2 | 12w38a |    Added bats. | |||
| 12w42a | Bats no longer "trample" crops nor do they activate pressure plates.[2] | ||||
| 1.4-pre | Added bat sounds: entity.bat.ambient, entity.bat.hurt, entity.bat.death, entity.bat.takeoff | ||||
| 1.11 | 16w32a | The entity ID has been changed from Bat to minecraft:bat. | |||
| 1.14 | 18w43a |    The texture of bats has been changed. | |||
| Pocket Edition Alpha | |||||
| v0.11.0 | build 1 | Added bats. | |||
| Bedrock Edition | |||||
| [[{{{1}}}]] | |||||
| [[{{{1}}} 1.10.0|1.10.0]] | beta 1.10.0.3 | The texture of bats has been changed. | |||
| Legacy Console Edition | |||||
| TU19 | CU7 | 1.12 | Patch 1 | 1.0.1 | Added bats. |
| 1.90 | The texture of bats has been changed. | ||||
| New Nintendo 3DS Edition | |||||
| 0.1.0 | Added bats. | ||||
Issues[]
Issues relating to "Bat" are maintained on the bug tracker. Report issues there.
Trivia[]
- According to Jeb, the bat is an example of an ambient mob – a mob that constantly spawns, similar to the squid, but also constantly despawns because when a player is not around it does not serve any purpose.[1]
- Between 20 October and 3 November, bats spawn more frequently as a small easter egg in homage to Halloween.[Java Edition only]
Gallery[]
Screenshots[]
A colony of spawned bats and a witch.
A bat in a cave.
A flock of bats.
Isolated and flipped.
Official screenshot of some bats with the updated texture and model as of Snapshot 23w43a.
New Bat Redesign
In other media[]
Bat in promotional artwork for the Pretty Scary Update.
Lego Minecraft Bat.
Bat plush made by JINX.
"Bat Trick or Treat," an official Halloween shirt design.
References[]
External Links[]
- Meet the Bat – Minecraft.net on March 7, 2017
- New Bat Redesign - Twitter.com/Minecraft on Octobor 25 2023