THE BATS. 35 



partial to forest districts than the last, may be distin- 

 guished by the conspicuous fringe on the interfemoral 

 membrane. ' 



Daubenton's Bat is not infrequently seen hawking 

 Dauben- over water. On the face are two prominent 

 ton's Bat. swellings. The ears, nearly as long as the 

 head, are oval in shape, lobed and notched on the outer 

 margin. It occurs throughout these islands, though no- 

 where is it very common. 



The AMiiskered Bat is a small, solitary, and swift-flying 

 bat, not uncommon in Hampshire and the neighbouring 

 "WTiiskered counties, but gradually rarer farther north, 

 Bat. and not indeed recorded from Scotland until 



comparatively recently. In Ireland its occurrences would 

 also appear to be few and far between. This species 

 hibernates for a short period only in ruins, caves, or hollow 

 trees. The face is thickly furred, hence the trivial name. 

 There are a number of transverse bands on the membrane, 

 which is devoid of lobe and starts from the base of the 

 foot. The tail is long and curved. 



The Long-eared Bat is one of the commonest kinds indi- 

 genous to these islands, easily distinguished by the great 

 Long-eared length of its ears and tail, the former being 

 B^*- flexible and semi-transparent, and almost as 



long as the body. When the animal is asleep they are 

 observed to fold downwards. The voice of this bat is par- 

 ticularly shrill and high-pitched — so much so, indeed, that 

 many folks are quite unable to distinguish it. Bell and 

 some older writers described a smaller species, in w^hich the 

 ears were proportionately less and the tail longer. It is 

 now, however, referred to the present species. 



The Barbastelle is a rare bat of remarkable appearance 



and restricted distribution, being found chiefly, 

 Barbastelle. . 



' though nowhere in abundance, in our south- 

 eastern counties, scarcer as we proceed northward, and 



