74 VESPERTILIONID^— NYCTALUS 



Occasionally the Great Bat appears In broad daylight. Mr 

 J. W. Douglas observed^ one mobbed by swallows, the powers 

 of flight of which were, however, so clumsy compared with 

 those of the bat, that it soon left its pursuers behind. Again, 

 the Reverend A. Matthews told Mr Montagu Browne "that 

 one broiling hot day in July ... at midday, when the 

 air was perfectly bright and clear, he observed swallows 

 circling at an immense altitude, and above them, at a much 

 higher elevation, four large bats, which he supposed to be of 

 this species." On one occasion, writes the Reverend J. G. 

 Tuck,^ at about midday, a Great Bat suddenly dropped into a 

 pond about ten yards from the bank, and swam to shore with- 

 out the least difficulty. Whether the animal's swim was under- 

 taken voluntarily or by mischance is open to question, but this 

 species, like others, loves to touch the surface of pools of water 

 over which it may happen to be flying. 



When discovered in its diurnal retreat the Noctule will be 

 found cold and comatose, hanging head-downwards, but 

 tenaciously grasping the sides of the cavity with its feet. 

 Many may be huddled together, and frequently they will make 

 no attempt to escape, but when handled they rapidly become 

 warm and lively. They rise quite easily from a flat surface,^ 

 exceptional failures being due to ill-health or overfeeding. 



"The actions of the Noctules," wrote Gurney,^ "when 

 awaking from their diurnal sleep at the approach of evening, 

 are curious and grotesque. They frequently open and 

 shut their mouths for several consecutive seconds with an 

 exceedingly rapid motion of the lower jaw ; this action is 

 succeeded by the tongue being protruded about the eighth of 

 an inch, and the lips being thus thoroughly licked. When 

 this is accomplished, a hearty yawn usually follows, the mouth 

 being opened in the process to its utmost width, and the 

 next employment undertaken is an attack on the small parasitic 

 insects which infest the fur of these bats. The sides of the 

 body are vigorously scratched by a rapid and continuous action of 



* Zoologist^ 1843, 6 ; see also W. S. Lewis, Zoologist, 1848, 2252. 

 2 Zoologist, 1905, 231. 3 Gurney, Oldham, etc. 



* Zoologist, 1874, 4194; see also Trans. Norfolk and Norwich Naturalists Soc, 

 1869-70, 22 (published 1874). 



