55 
a 
Fruit Bats were often mistaken for Vampires by the earlier 
writers, but the true Vampire is an insectivorous Bat, and the 
only blood sucking Vampires are of small size. ‘he evil deeds 
of Vampires have been greatly exaggerated : there are no proved 
cases of their sucking human blood, though Darwin and Wallace 
both found that they would suck the blood of saddle-sore horses. 
Bats are nocturnal or crepuscular; they are topsy turvey in 
most of their habits. Their day retreats are hollow trees, caves, 
old bnildings, house roofs, or church towers. In winter they 
sleep or hibernate with more or less profundity. Some species 
spend only a very short period on the wing in summer, so that 
we have the strange case of a mammal which for nearly six 
months is in a state of absolute repose, and that in the other six 
months flies only for about an hour per day, ‘‘ spending this hour 
in rapid and sustained flight, during which time it captures and 
devours sufficient food to nourish its body during the sleeping 
hours.”’ 
Bats suckle their young, and carry them with them when flying, 
Many Bats possess curious nasal appendages, which Phil Robin- 
son describes as ‘“ fantastic and unexpected.” ‘It is,’’ he says, 
‘“‘a very orchis of noses.” Blind as a Bat is not quite correct, 
though the power of vision is slight in some species. Spallan- 
zani and De Jurine and others have proved that a blinded Bat 
is not helpless, and can avoid striking against any object. It 
appears to have a sense of touch which is absent in most mam- 
mals. This sense may be in the membrane, but it is almost 
certainly present in the skin folds round the nose. ‘lwo of our 
British species possess nose ornamentation—the Horseshoe Bats. 
The greater Horseshoe Bat is a southern form in our Islands; 
the lesser Horseshoe is found among the limestone, spending the 
winter at any rate in caves. The Horseshoe Bats when awake 
avoid capture in their dark retreats in a marvellous manner ; 
they appear to be quite at home in absolute darkness. 
The sleeping Horseshoe does not fold its wings in the manner 
of other British species, which fold the forearm on the arm, hang- 
ing by their sides. It brings the two forearms together over the 
back, and places one hand over the other, wrapping itself it its 
wing membrane. The tail is not folded beneath the body, but 
re-curved over the back, a curious position in which it is also held 
when the Bat is walking or in flight. 
The shrill voice of the Bat is pitched too bigh for many ears 
to discern it, but it is a penetrating sound, and can be heard by 
some people from a great distance, 
Most of our Bats belong to the Vespertilionida, the H orseshoes 
to the Bhinolophide. The Long-eared Bat is well known, for it 
