246 The Ifish Naturalist, December, 



On the next day (December 22nd) it was gone, having 

 evidently flown during the night. This desertion must in 

 fairness be ascribed to its having been disturbed, and slightly 

 alarmed, on the previous afternoon. The remainder of 

 December, and the first two nights of the ensuing January, 

 were characterised by cold and frost, and during this period 

 the hole continued unoccupied. 



The night of January 3rd was mild ; the thermometer until 

 nearly midnight remained at 46 , and the Pipistrelle was seen 

 flying. On the morning of the following day the I^ong-eared 

 Bat was found to have returned to its hole in the Beech-tree. 



For about three weeks from the above date this bat was 

 looked at every day, and often with a lantern during the 

 night. From January 4th to nth the observer detected no 

 change of attitude ; but on some of these days, when the 

 temperature was as high as 44 , the little creature fidgetted 

 slightly during sleep. On January 12th, at a temperature of 

 46 , it became very restless ; and after sunset crept out of its 

 hole, and sat for about three hours in an exposed position on 

 the trunk, with its eyes open, but its ears still folded back 

 beneath its wings. A high wind was blowing, which probably 

 prevented the bat taking flight On the following night — 

 during a great storm, and at a temperature of 49^ — the animal 

 w r as again found outside its hole, this time with one of its ears 

 unfolded and protruded in front of it, while the other was still 

 tucked below the wing. Though the bat's eyes were wide 

 open, and it seemed in attitude ready to fly, it manifested no 

 concern at having the lantern held over it. Flight in such a 

 storm would at any rate have been impossible, and before 

 9 p.m. it was back in its hole. During the next seven evenings 

 it was invariably found asleep in its den at whatever hour 

 visited ; and on the night of the 21st of January it was still 

 there at 6 p.m., one and a-half hours after sunset, though the 

 temperature was high (51 ) and the wind light. Next day, 

 however, the hole was empty. A long spell of cold weather 

 immediately set in, and the bat was not seen again until 

 March. 



It returned for a few days about March 17th, during the 

 observer's absence from the locality, and deserted again on 

 the 25th. On April 10th it was once more in possession. 



