British Bats 



into tiny stretchers for the thin and delicate sheet of 

 skin that spreads over them. This skin is fixed to the 

 body, and extends backwards, taking in the hind-legs. 

 Now, these wings serve the Bat as well as the wings of 

 a bird serve it, but there is this difference : a bird can 

 move rapidly in mid-air, and on the ground it can 

 exhibit remarkable powers of locomotion. Not so 

 with the Bat. It is only a creature of activity while on 

 the wing. Once it settles on terra-firma it is almost 

 helpless, its movements being a mere crawl. I have 

 picked a Bat off the ground before it could regain 

 its self-confidence. It had evidently been disturbed 

 during the midday sun and forced to take wing, and 

 landed on the roadway. Although Bats seldom fly 

 during the daytime, I have repeatedly observed them 

 hawking for insects in a glaring sunshine. 



Some species of Bats are endowed with enormous 

 ears considering the size of their bodies. Others have 

 an apparently abnormal amount of skin clustering 

 round their muzzles. These skin developments seem 

 to have their uses, evidently being sensitive to touch 

 in a remarkable degree. This in a great measure makes 

 up for the rather rudimentary eyes Bats generally have. 



Bats hibernate throughout the winter, retiring to 

 some lofty tower or other edifice. Here they attach 

 themselves to the couplings or rafters — often in clusters 

 — and sleep until congenial weather returns. As be- 

 comes a mammal, the female suckles her offspring, of 

 which there are two at a time. 



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