24 PROCEEDINGS OF SOCIETIES. 



yet it continued so cold that only one bat came out, and one stranger was seen on 

 the river, and when left them, at 10.30, all was quiet in the hole. The next day we 

 did not disturb them at all. The 27th was a wet day ; it cleared up in the evening; 

 though still cold, seventeen bats came out ; they had, however, grown very wary and 

 learned to dodge the net, and would not come out unless all was quiet — they also 

 first took a peep out to see that all was clear, running back if the net was not held 

 perfectly steady; so acute was their hearing, that every time the gunwale of the 

 boat touched the pier of the bridge, no matter how gently, there was a loud cry of 

 alarm from the hole, which I did not hear except then ; and whenever a bat 

 ran back from the net after this cry, all would grow quiet again for about five 

 minutes, and then the scuffling, scrambling, and squealing would begin again, and 

 in a few moments they would begin to come out. It was perfectly possible to dis- 

 tinguish the two, both on the wing and when coming out of the hole — V. Nattereri 

 coming to its mouth, and thence flying straight out ; whilst the Pipistrelle crept to 

 the edge of the pier, and letting himself fall from thence, flew off. This, added to 

 the batter's being more wary and active in dodging the net, rendered him more difficult 

 to capture, and to retain when captured, as out of three, supposed to be of this 

 species captured, I was only able to retain one. V. Nattereri does not fly as rapidly 

 nor make such quick turns as the Pipistrelle, and when struck into the water, floundered 

 in it so as to enable me to catch him, while the Pipistrelle, under similar cir- 

 cumstances, just touched it and was off. The cry of the Pipistrelle is much 

 shriller than that of the other. There was also an unmistakeably fetid 

 odour from the Pipistrelle, which I did not remark from Natterer's bat. I 

 would say that of the bats counted each night the following were the proportions : — 

 June 23rd, Natterer's bat, twenty-seven ; Pipistrelle, fourteen. 24th, Natterer's 

 bat, twenty ; Pipistrelle, nine. 25th, Natterer's bat, one. 27th, Natterer's bat, 

 eleven ; Pipistrelle, six. So that Natterer's bat appears to be the commoner of the 

 two, though this might arise from the Pipistrelle not beginning to fly till half an 

 hour later than the other. On confinement their manners are very different ; the 

 Pipistrelle being impatient, squealing, and biting like a little fury, and running up 

 and down the sides of the net ; while Natterer's bat was gentle, submitting to be 

 handled, merely gaping with its mouth, and uttering a soft, low chirp ; both species 

 used the exserted tip of the tail as an additional foot. Out of the specimens of 

 Natterer's bat captured or shot, the proportion of sexes were seven females and two 

 males. One of Natterer's bats lived for two days with us, and fed on flies very 

 readily, and on raw meat. I remarked, however, that when the fly was not moving 

 before his eyes, the bat took no notice of it, although the fly was touching its nose, 

 or walking over its ears and head. I attempted to keep the others alive ; but though 

 they fed well with me for some days, the journey up in the train killed them. I did 

 not remark the great insensibility to the proximity of objects, which, according to 

 Spallangani, is so well marked in some species, as one of them, which escaped from 

 us in the house, struck himself repeatedly against the ceiling and corners of the 

 room, in his efforts to elude recapture. I remarked, too, that several of them flew 

 straight into the net when held perfectly steady before the hole. Save in a few par- 

 ticulars, the bats answered nearly to the description given in Bell's M British 

 Quadrupeds." There was a well-marked sulcus between the nostrils ; the seba- 

 ceous follicles not well-marked ; exserted portion of tail, a line and a half in length ; 

 interfemoral, with from eight to fourteen bands. This character is, it would seem, 

 of secondary importance, as the number of bands vary in my specimens. The male 

 and the female differ slightly in dimensions, the female being the larger. The 

 under surface of the latter, particularly the wings, was lighter than the former. 

 The hind claws are thick and clumsy, and ciliated with stiff white hairs. The dis- 

 tribution of this bat is curious, as in England it has only occurred in the eastern 

 counties, and in this country the only two counties it has hitherto been recorded — 

 Dublin and Kildare — are to the east, though I am sure it will, if looked for, be 

 found in other counties also. I regret I have not any more information to supply 

 your Society with in regard to the bat presented last February by me, as, owing to 

 want of specimens for comparison, I am still in doubt what species to refer it to, as 

 in its characters it partakes of those of both V. Daubentonii and Mystacinus Bell. 

 It also resembles in one respect the species under consideration (V. Nattereri) — viz., 



