^20 Transactions. — Zoology. 



bat (Chalinolobus Uihermdatus), and the long -eared bat 

 (Mystacina tuherculata) . The first is much the more common 

 of the two, and can easily be recognised by its short ears and 

 by its long tail, which is completely included in a prolonga- 

 tion of the wing-membrane. It is rather more than 2in. 

 in total length, and is thus about the same size as the 

 pipistrelle or " flittermouse," the commonest of the English 

 species. The long-eared bat is slightly larger than the species 

 just mentioned ; it has much longer ears, and a curious pro- 

 jecting muzzle ; its tail is very short, and is almost entirely 

 free from the wing-membrane. A remarkable peculiarity is 

 that a part of the wing-membrane is thickened, the remaining 

 membranous portion being folded under this when the wings 

 are in repose. The wings, when folded, thus occupy a smaller 

 space than in any other bat. 



Up to the present time hardly anything has been recorded 

 respecting the mode of life of the New Zealand bats, a cir- 

 cumstance no doubt due to their shy and recluse habits. The 

 English bats, or most of them, frequent the habitations of 

 man, taking up their quarters in churches and cathedrals, 

 ruined towers, and other buildings, or even sheltering them- 

 selves in attics or under the straw thatch of cottages. They 

 .are thus regularly under the observation of man, and are 

 familiarly known to most country-people. But the New 

 Zealand species are seldom seen. They are pre-eminently 

 lovers of the forest, and are never found far from its dense 

 shade. To study their habits, or even to see them at all in a 

 living state, it is necessary to dwell in the heart of the forest. 

 It is therefore not at all surprising that it has not yet been 

 decided whether our bats live in communities, as is the case 

 with most of the European species and many others, or are 

 solitary in their habits. Many bushmen incline to the latter 

 view, giving as a reason that they hardly ever find more than 

 one or two bats together. The object of this paper is to prove 

 that the first view is the correct one. 



In the year 1881 I spent some time exploring the western 

 portion of the Nelson Provincial District. While stopping 

 near the Graham Kiver, a tributary of the Motueka, which 

 rises in the forest-clad hills near Mount Arthur and Mount 

 Peel, I observed that the short-eared bat was remarkably 

 plentiful. Every evening at dusk scores could be seen flitting 

 across the bush-clearings, and I was much interested in 

 watching their zigzag flight, and in noticing the ease with 

 which they caught their insect prey upon the wing. Con- 

 versing about them with the keeper of the accommodation- 

 house, I learned that a bushman called Deacon had lately 

 found a colony of many hundreds in a hollow tree in the 

 Wangapeka Valley. A few months later I visited Wanga- 



