4 Coward, Create?- Horseshoe Bat in Captivity. 



always allowed them to fly about the room and pitch 

 wherever they pleased. 



Considerably over 400 beetles were eaten by the bats, 

 whilst the latter were at rest. The exceptions were so 

 few that I have no hesitation in asserting that it is the 

 rule for the species to devour its prey when it is at rest. 

 Two or three times I detected the sound of crunching 

 when a bat was on the wing with a beetle in its mouth, 

 but on these occasions the bat pitched before it dropped 

 the beetle's head and elytra ; in one instance only was a 

 beetle wholly devoured without the bat alighting — the 

 discarded portions being dropped in flight ; but even in 

 this exceptional case the bat three or four times attempted 

 to find but failed to secure a foothold. 



It is very doubtful if the Greater Horseshoe has keen 

 sight ; indeed, though the action of the bat when hanging 

 by its feet and fully awake, suggests that it is looking 

 round — a rapid, nervous movement of the head, slightly 

 raised, it does not seem to notice beetles which are held 

 in front of it, or to be able to quickly locate them when 

 they are crawling near it on the ground. I have 

 mentioned that the bats found and ate beetles in their 

 cage. I frequently watched them do this, and also saw 

 them, when at liberty in the room, drop on the floor near 

 a beetle ; but even if the beetle was only a couple of 

 inches beyond the bat's muzzle, it did not seem to be 

 able to see it ; but if the beetle touched the bat it was 

 secured. The Horseshoe Bats are unable to walk, but 

 they have a habit of dropping with outstretched wings 

 upon a flat surface, from which they spring again with 

 surprising agility. On one occasion a bat dropped near 

 a beetle which had buzzed, for undoubtedly the buzzing 

 of a beetle at once attracted the bat's attention ; the bat 

 moved its head to and fro, the lower edge of the horse- 



