Big Brown-bat nsi 



Davis Mountains [south-western Texas], I found two lower 

 jaws of this Bat among numerous other bones in pellets under 

 the nest of a great horned-owl." 



At Chilliwack Lake, in British Columbia, the rainbow 

 trout are of great size, 8 pounds to 12 pounds, and these giants 

 were often seen by Professor John Macoun, leaping after the 

 Bats that skim the surface of the lake at evenmg. In one case 

 he thinks he saw a Bat captured by the trout, and is satisfied 

 that the fish would not jump so persistently if they did not fre- 

 quently succeed. 



The following interesting remarks on its habits in general habits 

 are contributed by Rhoads:^ 



"Among American Bats this species may be said to corre- 

 spond in its fondness for the homes of man to the Mouse and 

 Rat, or to the robin and the wren among birds. During sum- 

 mer, they are as likely to hang up for day-dreams behind an 

 unused shutter or door, or a crack in the wall, or a shady porch 

 or out-house, as anywhere else. At night, they incessantly circle 

 about the house and lawn and street lamps until some fleeing 

 insect suddenly leads one into the kitchen or the bedchamber, 

 and, 10 to I, a panic ensues, resulting in no small noise, 

 destruction of furniture, and the miserable death of the innocent, 

 harmless, and useful Bat. Such an occurrence as this, related 

 by Audubon, happened in his Kentucky home in 1818, in the 

 bedroom occupied by the traveller Rafinesque. It resulted in 

 the destruction of a favourite violin, etc. [which the guest used 

 as a bat-club], and, so far as we are able to follow the sequel, in 

 the immortality of the Bat as ' Eptesicus melanops Raf.', which, 

 being interpreted, is no less than a synonym oiEptesicus fuscus 

 (Beauvois), the subject of this article. It is interesting to note 

 that Rafinesque, in describing the genus Eptesicus, says: 'The 

 name means house-flyer'; and of the species melanops he says: 

 ' It comes often in the house at night'; recording in this way the 

 indelible impressions of his midnight battle two years before. 

 This Bat is accused of bringing bed-bugs and other insect 



* Mam. Penn., 1903, p. 212. 



