THE HARMLESS VAMPIRES 



305 



Ega ; and it is the largest of all the South American species, measuring twenty-eight 

 inches in expanse of wing. ' ' Nothing in animal physiognomy can be more hideous 

 than the countenance of this creature when viewed from the front, the large 

 leathery ears standing out from the sides and top of the head, the erect spear-shaped 

 appendage on the tip of the nose, the grin, and the glistening black eyes, all com- 

 bining to make up a figure that reminds one of some mocking imp of fable. No 

 wonder that some imaginative people have inferred diabolical instincts on the part 

 of so ugly an animal. The vampire is, however, the most harmless of all bats, and 



THE GREAT VAMPIRE-BAT. 



(One-fourth natural size.) 



its inoffensive character is well known to residents on the Amazon. I found two 

 distinct species of it, one having the fur of a blackish color ( V. auritus], the other 

 of a ruddy hue ( V. spectrum), and ascertained that both fed chiefly on fruits. The 

 church at Ega was the headquarters of both kinds. I used to see them, as I sat at 

 my door during the short evening twilight, trooping forth by scores from a large 

 open window at the back of the altar, twittering cheerf' .lly as they sped off to the 

 borders of the forest. They sometimes enter houses. The first time I saw one in 

 my chamber wheeling heavily round and round, I mistook it for a pigeon, thinking 



