42 BRITISH BATS. 



folded back along the sides, the pointed inner ear, 

 or tragus, alone projecting. I have kept several 

 specimens of the long-eared bat, and found that 

 they became tame more rapidly than the other 

 species, permitting themselves to be freely handled, 

 and feeding eagerly on flies and raw meat. This 

 bat seems also more active on the ground than the 

 other kinds, shuffling about with greater ease, and 

 possessing the power of raising itself on the wing 

 from a flat surface. The young long-eared bat, 

 when first born, is destitute of fur, but in the space 

 of a few days gains a light brown covering, very 

 downy in texture, and which is replaced by the 

 permanent coat at about the age of six weeks. 



The long-eared bat seems especially to frequent 

 fenny and marshy districts, particularly where 

 there are lines of pollard willows, as it feeds in a 

 great degree on the various species of caddis flies 

 (Phryganece) which emerge from the pupa state 

 during the earlier part of the summer, and hover 

 about these trees. This bat is more delicate in 

 structure than the others, the bones being slighter 

 in form, the thorax is short and broad, the upper 

 part of the sternum very long, the clavicles very 

 long, slender, and curved, the hind legs are com- 

 paratively short, the tarsus very small, the meta- 

 tarsus short, the feet being capable of being turned 

 nearly round in an inward direction. The number 



