266 BA TS 



(zthiops) from West Africa. In the colder regions all the species of Rhinolophus 

 hibernate ; but the late Dr. Leith Adams mentions that in Malta the little horseshoe- 

 bat, which on the continent retires for the whole winter, may be observed at any 

 season, although of course most plentiful in summer, even in midwinter occasionally 

 venturing forth at twilight when the warm southern winds are blowing. The 

 horseshoe-bats, with their near allies, the leaf-nosed bats, may be regarded as the 

 most highly organized of the entire insectivorous group, as is especially indicated by 

 the great development of their nasal appendages and also by their compact and deli- 

 cately-formed bones. 



The leaf-nosed bats {Hipposiderus) may be distinguished from the preceding 

 group by the form of the nose-leaf, in which the upper and hinder portion does not 

 terminate in a point, and there is also no median process hiding the nostrils. More- 

 over, the large leaf-like antitragus found in front of the ears of the horseshoe-bats 

 is reduced to a very small remnant ; and the teeth, owing to a reduction in the 

 number of the premolars, are fewer than in the horseshoe-bats, the total being 

 either twenty-eight or thirty. Leaf-nosed bats are quite unknown in Europe, but 

 are widely spread over the warmer regions of Africa, Asia, and Australia. Some of 

 these bats exceed in size the largest of the horseshoe group ; the largest of all being 

 Commerson's bat (//. commersoni}, from Africa and Madagascar, next to which is 

 the great Himalayan leaf -nosed bat (H. armiger}, extending from the Eastern Him- 

 alayas to China. Males of this species are just over four inches in length, exclusive 

 of the tail. The following account of its habits is taken from Dr. J. Scully, who 

 writes : ' ' This bat usually harbors during the day in caves, or commonly in lofts, 

 outhouses, and sheds that are little used ; in the latter localities it suspends itself, 

 by the claws of the feet, from the rafters. When attaching itself in this way to the 

 edge of a beam or rafter, the animal sways, pendulum-like, a few times until the 

 impetus given during flight is exhausted ; and it then hangs motionless with its 

 wings folded close to the body. If slightly alarmed by the opening of a door, or 

 any unusual noise in the room it occupies, the head is thrust out and turned care- 

 fully in various directions, as if for the purpose of finding out the cause of dis- 

 turbance. On such occasions I have purposely dropped a heavy book on the floor 

 so as to alarm the bat thoroughly. The animal would at once fly off, and either 

 take several turns round the room or else leave it ; but it invariably returned 

 quickly and attached itself to the spot it had previously occupied. It comes out for 

 the capture of its prey about sunset, and its hunting-grounds are gardens, orchards, 

 cleared spaces in woods, or avenues of trees ; somewhere near trees always. It is 

 sometimes found flying on a level with the tops of the trees, but more commonly 

 nearer the ground ; a very characteristic movement it has is a slow but steady sweep 

 round a leafy tree, or clump of trees, in search of insects which frequent the lower 

 branches. While it was intently occupied in this circular flight I have been nearly 

 touched on the face by this bat, as I walked across the grounds attached to my 

 house in Nipal. And in passing so close to one it could be distinctly heard crunch- 

 ing the hard-bodied insects it had caught between its strong teeth. Sometimes these 

 bats come out of their day retreat before the insects they are in search of are to be 

 found in plenty. On the twenty-fifth of August, about 6 p. M., I noticed an ex- 



