!40 CHEIROPTERA. 



ear is tolerably large and wrinkled, with a sharp-pointed tragus. I( is 

 found all through Europe, and has been often observed in captivity. It 

 is of more gentle disposition than most bats, and soon recognizes its 

 keeper; a couple of days render it comparatively tame. It is not very 

 active, and one kept by Bell, the naturalist, preferred lying on the 

 hearth-rug to using its wings ; it fed on meat. 



During hibernation, they hang by their hind legs usually at the 

 entrance of caverns, where they sometimes have been seen perfectly 

 enclosed in icicles. 



THE CALIFORNIA BAT. 



The California Bat, Vcspcrtilio nitidus, is to be carefully distin- 

 guished from the previously-described California Vampire. The body 

 is small, its spread of wing seven inches, the head and face hairy, the 

 ears longer than the head, the foot small, the tail usually embraced in the 

 interfemoral membrane. The fur is silky, of a brownish tint, becoming 

 lighter in front. As far as known, it has never been found to the east of 

 the Rocky Mountains. 



THE NOCTULE. 



The NocTULE, Vespertilio noctjila, is one of the largest species. Its 

 length is sometimes four inches, including one inch of tail. When its 

 wings are expanded they measure fourteen inches. 



It is found over a great part of the Old World, preferring lowlands 

 and valleys. During the summer days it sleeps in clefts of trees, but 

 during their winter-sleep hundreds are found clinging to each other in 

 old ruins. Its flight is strong and high, and it turns with such dexterity 

 as to escape almost all attacks from birds of prey. The Noctule is com- 

 monly called in Great Bi-itain the Great Bat, but it possesses a more 

 popular appellation derived from its sharp and piercing cry, that of the 

 " Jacky Screamer." It does not make its appearance till the end of April ; 

 it emits an offensive odor. 



THE SHORT-EARED BAT. 



Daubenton's Bat, Vcspcrtilio (or Bracltyotus) Daubcntonii, has ears 

 which, when pressed down, scarcely reach the top of the nose. It 

 measures an inch and a half in the bodj-, and about one inch in the tail. 



