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Vol. III. APRIL, 1894. No. 4. 



IRISH BATS : 



How to coixect Specimens with a view to the 

 Investigation of their Distribution. 



BY H. OYSTER JAMESON. 



Last year I printed and circulated a few papers on the means 

 to be adopted for collecting Irish Bats, and, as the season of 

 the year in which they are most readily procurable is now 

 approaching, I would like to call the attention of the readers 

 of the Irish Naturalist to the wide field lying open for in- 

 vestigation, in the distribution in Ireland of our few species. 



Our knowledge of the range and usual haunts of the seven 

 species that are at present known to inhabit Ireland is as 

 yet extremely limited, to say nothing of their habits. Few 

 people, except those living in the centres of towns, pass a 

 summer without opportunities for procuring specimens of the 

 Bat tribe, and such specimens are almost impossible to identify 

 without trustworthy books and a series of skins and spirit 

 specimens for comparison ; as in many cases the specific 

 characters are exceedingly minute. I therefore venture to 

 put before the readers of the Irish Naturalist a short account 

 of the most likely places in which to look for Bats. The Bats, 

 or Cheiroptera, are nocturnal mammals, coming out from 

 their sleeping-places at dusk to feed ; all our Irish species 

 are insectivorous, living principally on flies, which they 

 capture on the wing. In the day-time they lie hid in dark 

 recesses of buildings, caves, &c, and it is in these places 

 that they are most readily procured. The archaeological re- 

 mains of Ireland no doubt harbour numerous Bats, but they 



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