178 COMMON BRITISH ANIMALS 



coloured bat {Vesjwrngo murinus)^ the common bat 

 of the Continent, until the error was corrected by 

 the Rev. Leonard Jenyns. 



The colour of the fur is reddish-brown, and the 

 wing membranes spring from the bases of the toes 

 and not from the ankles. In mild seasons it flies 

 at night and early morning from March to November. 

 Its food mainly consists of the night-flying Lepidop- 

 tera, flies and gnats, and when the supply of food 

 ceases the animal hibernates in some crevice or 

 corner of an old roof ; sometimes in a chimney, or 

 even in the hole of a tree. Many specimens have 

 been obtained from the roofs of cburches. On a 

 mild day, even in winter, it will come out for short 

 flights. ' 



The pipistrelle is more active on the ground than 

 many of the bats, and Bell has noticed that this and 

 other bats use the tip of the tail to assist them in 

 climbing, both in ascent and descent. He speaks 

 of the tip of the tail as '^ the little caudal finger " 

 which projects beyond the edge of the membrane 

 joining the legs. The pipistrelle may be kept in 

 captivity and fed on raw meat and flies, but care 

 should be taken not to subject it to any glaring- 

 light. 



Dr. N. H. Alcock, in the ' Irish Naturalist,^ viii, 

 33, gives some very interesting notes on the 

 hibernation of bats. He says : 



^^ When one of these animals intend? to hibernate 

 the following phenomena are observed. The animal 

 retires to a secluded spot, hangs itself up, and 

 gradually becomes motionless. Its temperature falls 



