MAMMALS 



on the upper parts), and singular aspect of the 

 face, occasioned by deeply sunk nostrils and 

 a peculiar formation of the ears, at once 

 arrested attention, recalling Bell's figure of 

 this species. 



3, Great or White's Bat. Pipistrellus noctula, 



Schreber. 



Bell — Scolophilus noctula. 

 White — VespertHio altivolans. 



The Messrs. Paget,' writing in 1834, refer 

 to this animal as being ' rather rare ' in the 

 neighbourhood of Yarmouth, which includes 

 a portion of Suffolk ; and about Thetford, 

 Mr. W. G. Clarke considers it to be rather 

 scarce at the present time. In most parts of 

 the county however it is a common species. 

 In the east it is especially numerous, and its 

 vigorous and somewhat snipe-like flight often 

 attracts attention as at sunset its dark form 

 comes into bold relief against the glowing col- 

 ours of the western sky. Flying usually at a 

 considerable elevation, it will sometimes, in hot 

 pursuit of its prey, dash obliquely downwards 

 almost to the earth. In east Suffolk it is gene- 

 rally first seen on the wing about the second 

 or third week in April. During a period of 

 seven or eight years, the earliest appearance 

 noted by the waiter is 2 April at Leiston, in 

 the year 1873. It does not as a rule retire to 

 its winter quarters till the latter part of 

 October, and on two occasions, in unusually 

 mild weather, I have noticed it abroad near 

 Snape Bridge in November ; in one instance 

 as late as the 28th of that month. In the 

 year 1894 the Rev. F. C. R. Jourdain saw 

 one near Halesworth, flying at mid-day in 

 bright sunshine, as early in the season as 26 

 March. In 1901 a noctule was observed by 

 the writer, apparently hawking for insects over 

 a sandpit at Blaxhall on 21 January at 4.45 

 p.m. The Rev. J. G. Tuck informs me that 

 these large bats take possession of the nest- 

 boxes placed about his garden at Tostock 

 near Bury St. Edmunds for the benefit of the 

 birds, and that he has found as many as ten 

 in one box. The noctule is particularly 

 partial to our river valleys ; those of the 

 Blythe, the Aide and the Stour being especially 

 attractive to it. 



4. Pipistrelle. Pipistrtllus pipistrellus, Schre- 



ber. 



Bell — Scotophtlus pipistrellus. 

 Abundant. Often seen abroad in mid- 

 winter during mild weather. It not unfre- 



» A Sketch of the Nat. Hist, of Yarmouth and 

 Neighbourhood, C. J. and James Paget. 



quently hawks for insects in the daytime, 

 both in summer and winter. I have several 

 times noticed this little bat so engaged in 

 December and January at hours varying from 

 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. 



5. Natterer's Bat. Myotis natter eri, Kuhl. 



Bell — Vespertilio nattereri. 

 Professor Newton ^ has recorded the occur- 

 rence of this bat at Elveden near Thetford, 

 and Mr. H. Laver of Colchester has also met 

 with it in the Stour valley. On several 

 occasions during the years 1882 and 1883 

 some examples of the present species were 

 found by the writer in the interior of a plaster 

 figure on the wall of a summer-house at 

 Blaxhall, most of them being males. On 

 12 April 1884 four of these bats, two ot 

 each sex, were discovered in the same retreat, 

 and on 18 March 1885 a single female was 

 the only occupant. They ran with consider- 

 able agility upon the ground, and their flight 

 was strong and vigorous. A pair were dis- 

 covered in the same place in May 1903. 



6. Daubenton's Bat. Myotis daubentoni, 



Leisler. 



Bell — VespertiRo daubentonii. 

 In an article on this bat in the Zoologist for 

 1889, Mr. J. E. Harting, then editor of that 

 journal, states (p. 163) that it has been ob- 

 served by Doubleday flying over the river 

 Stour at Sudbury. Mr. H. Laver of Col- 

 chester has since met with this species in the 

 Stour valley. About the year 1878 a bat 

 was shot within the boundaries of the parish 

 of St. Clement's, Ipswich, near the present 

 site of the sewer outlet works, which at that 

 time had not been constructed. Mr. H. C. 

 Hudson, taxidermist of that town, who was 

 present when it was killed, observing that it 

 was no common species, went with the per- 

 son who shot it to the Ipswich Museum, to 

 try and ascertain its species. Unfortunately 

 Dr. Taylor, curator at the time, was away. 

 After however consulting several books, Mr. 

 Hudson came to the conclusion that it was a 

 specimen of F. daubentonii. It was soon after- 

 wards sent to London, and came into the 

 possession of a Mr. Betts, who has since died, 



[^Fespertilio dasycneme. Boie (I sis, 1825, 

 p. 1200). 



Mr. J. E. Harting (« Remarks on British 

 Bats,' Zoologist, 1887, p. 162, in which is 

 given the classification, with distinguishing 

 characters of the families and genera, of all 



' Zoologist, 1853, p. 3804. 



217 



28 



