List of the Fauna of the County. 161 



delicate, and soon died; perhaps they required aquatic 

 insects, or it may be they could not bear confinement. The 

 whole family appear equally unfitted for close confinement, 

 and I find great difficulty in keeping bats alive for any 

 considerable length of time. 



V. MYSTAciNus. Whiskercd Bat. — This, again, is much 

 more common than is generally believed ; I have no diffi- 

 culty in finding all that I have required for the purposes of 

 study. Its flight is very similar to that of the Pipistrelle ; 

 like that bat it hawks under the shelter of a hedge or row of 

 trees, and I have no doubt is constantly passed over by those 

 seeking it as the commoner species. Buildings appear to be 

 its usual habitat. 



Plecotus auritus. Long-eared Bat. — There is no diffi- 

 culty in distinguishing this common bat : the remarkable 

 ears, as long as the body, cause it to be unmistakable. There 

 is no animal in existence, so far as I know, with ears in this 

 proportion, except a long-eared bat, P. homochnms, which 

 occurs in the Himalayas, and it is questionable whether this 

 latter is a true species ; if it is only a variety, then the 

 animal under consideration is, in respect of ears, unique. 

 Although the ears are so large, they do not strike one as 

 being so disproportionate as those of the lop-eared rabbit, 

 which are really small by comparison. Plecotus auritus is 

 very common in the Colchester district, and usually has its 

 haunts in buildings, although I have had them brought me 

 from liolloAV trees. It is a mild and gentle creature, and not 

 difficult to tame. It is the bat most frequently caught in 

 houses, having entered the room by the open window, often 

 much to the consternation of female members of the 

 household. 



Barbastellus Daubentonii. The Barbastelle. — I have 

 found this bat early in April flitting slowly, and in an 

 apparently purposeless manner, near the ground, under 

 the protection of a plantation ; and this style of flight is one 

 means by which it may be distinguished. Its dark colour 

 makes it appear much larger than it really is ; and now that 

 I have learned to recognise it I do not consider it so rare as 



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