70 The Irish Naturalist. 



are in many cases extremely difficult to explore with any 

 results ; specimens in such cases can best be obtained 

 through farm servants, &c, who may know the part of the 

 building in which to search for them. Workmen engaged in 

 pulling down or repairing buildings frequently meet with 

 colonies of Bats. Churches afford also admirable quarters, 

 particularly in the towers and roofs. I have myself found the 

 Long-eared Bat (Plecotus auritus) hanging in clusters from the 

 rafters of a church. Bats in such a situation hang with their 

 heads down and their wings folded to their body, a position 

 which is portrayed in many works on natural history. The 

 roofs and other parts of houses are also liable to be frequented. 

 When Bats are known to inhabit such a place as a hole in a 

 wall, tobacco smoke puffed in will generally succeed in bring- 

 ing them out. Old sheds and farm buildings, summer-houses, 

 boat-houses, &c, are excellent hunting-grounds. 



In felling old trees, Bats may be found in holes and 

 crevices and under the loose bark ; hollow trees often are the 

 homes of colonies. Projecting shelves, holes, and other 

 such places in caves are inhabited by some species ; they may 

 be found hanging from the roof and bare walls. Very often 

 buildings and isolated hollow trees near a lake or river repay 

 a visit. When on the wing at night, Bats frequently fly in at 

 open windows. I captured four specimens this way last 

 summer and autumn in my room at Killencoole. When Bats 

 are on the wing at dusk a well-aimed charge of No. 8 (snipe) 

 shot will sometimes secure a specimen. Some species, such 

 as the Hairy-armed Bat, come out long before dusk. The 

 neighbourhood of water, particularly a canal, or the deep still 

 pools of a river, should be visited at dusk with the gun. 



We have seven species of Bats in Ireland, representing four 

 genera. Our largest species is the Hairy-armed Bat ( Vesperugo 

 Lcislcri). This species, in my experience, is an early flyer ; the 

 specimens which I saw at Loughgilly, Co. Armagh, used to 

 appear some time before dusk. The flight is more " go-ahead" 

 and hawk-like than that of its next neighbour the Pipistrelle. 

 It has been found sparingly in the eastern counties as far 

 south as Wicklow. 



The Pipistrelle ( Vesperugo plpistrcllus) is the common Bat of 

 the British Isles, and is probably pretty generally distributed ; 

 its flight is extremely erratic. 



