14 INTRODUCTORY 



Cetaceans and Seals. The British Bats are mainly confined to 

 England, several of them being of rare occurrence even there, 

 so that we can scarcely hope to increase our list by discoveries 

 in this group to the extent of more than two or three. The 

 occurrence of any further marine Carnivora on our coasts is 

 not at all likely; but the identification of one or two 

 additional Cetaceans is probably only a question of time. It 

 is therefore to the Bats and Cetaceans that we must look for 

 any augmentation of the list. The latter group may safely be 

 left in the hands of Sir William Turner, LL.D., F.R.S., whose 

 investigations have already thrown so much light on this section 

 of our fauna. Should any of my readers have opportunities of 

 obtaining Bats from any part of Scotland, they will confer a 

 favour by forwarding specimens either to myself or to Mr 

 Eagle Clarke of the Museum of Science and Art, Edinburgh, 

 for examination. 



On account of their timidity and more or less nocturnal 

 habits, comparatively few of our native quadrupeds come 

 under the notice of the casual observer; and the same causes, 

 by rendering the observation and study of them matters of 

 considerable difficulty, are no doubt in great measure respon- 

 sible for the scanty attention paid to the class by the majority 

 of field naturalists. With the exception of the very meagre 

 lists in Ehind's " Excursions," illustrative of the natural 

 history of the environs of Edinburgh, and in Stark's " Picture 

 of Edinburgh," and of a short article by Mr Eagle Clarke in 

 Pollock's " Dictionary of the Forth," published in May 1891, 

 no account of the Mammalia of the district has hitherto, so 

 far as I am aware, been written. Eecords and short notices 

 bearing on the subject are, however, by no means scarce, 

 though scattered over a wide field of zoological and other 

 literature. A list of the publications from which information 

 has been derived will be found at the end of the volume. 



