RECUKATIVK NATURAL HISTORY. 



L8J 



therefore apparent, that during l,\ n.-n. . .t.il prooesse* 



proceed very slowly, and that iln-n- i* a minimum of want*. It 



:Mer i.f iMiriiiii-i interest that Imliiiii Fakir*, under tho 



o of opiates or of Indian hem;., liavo remained in a state 



nix weeks. Tin pi the nearest approach 



t<> hybernntiori in man. Bata are capable of retaining life for a 



Jon-,' tilim in tin- torpid state. It is Maid tlmt :i t.'Tpid bat was 



found in a family vault, which waa opened in Norwich in 1800, 



in>r dosed for 32 years. Hybernation corresponds 



to sloep in it il return, and in the bat it is 



'loop as in certain other animals, for, on the occurrence of 



very In yi in winter, il. the.- t'.>rth in <|ne-t <(' insects. 



Many kind* t' K.st live in th Hriti-h Islands. The mont 



ii one, found in nearly every part of the country, is the 



the day there sleeping in bat fashion head downward*, Mid 

 .luwi of tli.- hind feat to sum* object wnd 

 then setting forth at night moth hunting. The ooloor of the 

 fur appears to vary with the age of the individual, as in the 

 oase with many othr animals ; it U usually of a reddish ot 

 greyish-brown tint, the hairs being blackish at the baa*. 



Tii.- ',."., li.a, or Noctule (Vape/uyo lutttula) which was 



first noticod in this country by White-, of Selbome fame, i* not 



to common as the Pipistrelle. It in a sociable bat, flocks of 



them repairing to the same hiding place, generally the hollow 



tn-e in preference to a building. It in 



a high ttier, and in its journeying*) through the air generally 

 proceeds in straight lines, emitting all the while sharp and 

 shrill cried. It feeds on insects, and has a special liking for 



THE PIPJSTKELLE, OK COMMON BAT. 



Pipistrelle, or Flittermouse (Vesperugo pipistrellus). Ita winter 

 sleep is a comparatively short one, as it does not retire until 

 winter has well set in, and it is on the wing again as early as 

 the middle of March. It lives on gnats, midges, and other 

 small insects. Its ears are about two-thirds the length of the 

 head, with a tragas or cartilaginous eminence at the external 

 entrance of the ear, not quite half as long as that organ. Its 

 body is a reddish-brown colour above and of a paler tint 

 beneath. It can run, walk, and climb with considerable fa- 

 cility. It is not very particular as to where it resides, being at 

 home in the crevices of old brick walls, under the roofs of 

 houses, and in fact nearly in any ruinous place and position 

 where it is not likely to be interfered with. 



Another common British kind is the Long-eared Bat (Plecotus 

 auritus), so called because of the abnormal length of the ears, 

 which are nearly seven-eighths the length of the head and 

 body, being usually a little over an inch and a half long. It 

 takes its nightly wanderings in search of moths, which form its 

 chief food ; and, when on the wing, its shrill cries in the silence 

 of the night, as it flits overhead, may be easily told from those 

 of any other kind of bat. It resides principally in church 

 towers and in the roofs of tiled hou es in the country, passing 



cockchafers. Its head and body are about three inches in 

 length, and the expanded wings about fourteen inches across. 

 The ears are shorter than the head, and each tragus is about 

 one-third the length of an ear. The far is reddish-brown. 



The facial aspect of some bats is rendered very remarkable 

 by the presence of what are termed nose-leaves. This is the 

 case with the Horse-shoe bats, which chiefly inhabit warm 

 countries. The Greater Horse-shoe Bat (Rhinolophus jerrum- 

 equinuw), which is sometimes found in our southern counties, 

 has a membranous appendage attached to the nose, roughly 

 speaking, in the form of three leaves. It is the horse-shoe 

 shape of the two lower leaves which gives rise to the name of 

 this genus. The base of the third leaf rests in the concavity of 

 the horse-shoe, and tapers to a point on a level with the fore- 

 head. The ears of the Greater Horse-shoe Bat are large, 

 broad at the base, pointed at the top, and turned outwards. 

 They are of the same colour as the nose-leaves, pale brown. 

 Another bat of the same genus as the preceding is about half 

 an inch shorter, and is known as the Lesser Horse-shoe Bat 

 (Rhinolophus hippnsidercs). It is found in our islands, and 

 was formerly looked upon upon as an under-grown Greater 

 Horse-shoe bat. There are some slight differences between 



