THE NEW YORK BAT. I4I 



It is easily distinguished from bats of the same size by its short ears and 

 the absence of wmg-claws. In Germany it is called the Water Bat, 

 as it loves well-wateied regions, where it is found occasionally in extra- 

 ordinary numbers. It seems to prefer chalk quarries for the scenes of 

 its hibernation, and it lives in societies. 



Ponds near houses and gardens are their favorite haunts, and they 

 skim within a hand's-breadth of the surface ; if a bridge comes in their 

 course they always pass under the arches. By day they hang in clusters 

 jn branches over the water. 



The Little Brown Bats, Vcspcrtilio subulatus, common throughout 

 the Middle States, and the Blunt-NOSED Bat, Vcspcrtilio lucifiigus, ex- 

 tending throughout the United States as far as Mexico, call for no 

 remarks. 



GENUS SCOTOPHILUS. 



The Carolina Bat, Scotophilus Carolincnsis, has oblong ears as 

 long as the head and rather velvety. The projecting portion of the 

 ear is heart-shaped. The fur is chestnut-brown above and yellowish 

 below. 



The Georgian Bat, Scotophilus Gcorgianus, is of a dark-brown color 

 on the back, brighter in front, and the fur is thick, soft, and long ; the 

 head is somewhat flat, and the point of the tail is not involved in the 

 membranous wings. 



GENUS LASIURUS. 



The New York Bat, Lasiurus noveboraccnsis, has short and broad 

 ears, and a rather pointed, short nose. The fur is soft and thick, and 

 there is a white spot at the origin of the wings. It is sometimes called 

 the Red Bat, and is found in New York, Pennsylvania, and on the 

 Missouri. 



" Godman's Natural History " relates: " In June, 1823, a son of the 

 keeper of a city park in Philadelphia brought home the young one of 

 one of these bats. Three hours afterward its mother made her appear- 

 ance and followed the boy two blocks, finally alighting on his breast. 

 Both were brought to the museum, the young one firmly adhering to the 

 mother's teat." 



