240 RHINOLOPHID^— RHINOLOPHUS 



success. So accurate is this bat's aim, and so sure its grip, 

 that it can find sufficient inequalities for a hold on objects from 

 which other species would inevitably slip off if they attempted 

 to settle upon them. Mr Coward, for instance, has observed 

 one alighting upon a smooth brass rod, and on the almost 

 imperceptible edge of wall-paper, at its junction with a cornice. 



Unlike other species, neither of the Horseshoes is capable 

 of walking on a flat surface. Yet in captivity they have no 

 objection to alight on the flat. On such occasions their only 

 mode of forward progression is by a series of awkward leaps of 

 an inch or two in length : these are made with the wings half 

 spread, and the legs extended helplessly backwards, and end in 

 a thud as the bat falls prone on the ground. If left to them- 

 selves, they prefer to grope behind them with their feet, and if 

 a vertical surface be at hand, will climb it readily, ascending 

 backwards with or without the assistance of the thumbs. But 

 they can rise quite easily from a flat surface, leaping into 

 flight with astounding activity, no matter how confined the 

 surroundings. Mr Oldham has seen a Lesser Horseshoe take 

 wing from the bottom of a box three inches deep and not more 

 than five inches wide. 



When hanging at rest in their natural attitude of suspension 

 by the feet, these bats are very beautiful objects. The wings 

 are draped around them in a manner not found in vespertilionid 

 bats, but rather resembling that of certain exotic fruit bats, 

 and so neat and ordered that it almost recalls the folding of 

 a flower or leaf-bud. Their appearance as a whole has been 

 likened to that of a butterfly-pupa by Mr R. Newstead, who 

 was the first to photograph one in this attitude.^ The legs 

 are held perfectly straight, and, with the exception of the upper 

 portion of the head, the tips of the ears ^ and a narrow dorsal 

 space, the animal is completely enshrouded in its flying mem- 

 branes. Sometimes the head also is covered, but a narrow 

 space between the forearms is always exposed, this arrangement 

 being brought about by the upper arms being laid diagonally 



' Zoologist^ 1897, 537-538, and plate ii. See also, Oldham, op. cit. st4pra, the 

 present account being adapted from these two writers. 



- In captive Horseshoes the ears may be visible, but if in really good health they 

 are completely hidden in the wings, being slightly bent so as to fit into the natural 

 pockets formed by the membranes (Coward). 



