THE LONG-EARED BAT* 



THE Long-eared Bats are nearly as numerous as 

 the Common species; and, in all their manners and 

 habits of .life, have a great resemblance to them. 

 Linnaeus once entertained some doubt whether, 

 indeed, the two species were really distinct, or 

 whether the difference between the animals was 

 only sexual: but of three living individuals of the 

 Long-eared Bats, which I had by me at the same 

 time, one was a male, and the other two were 

 females. 



These were brought to me about the middle of 

 November, 1804. As the cold weather had then 

 scarcely begun to set in, th^y exhibited no symp- 

 toms whatever of approaching torpidity. In the 

 evening, on putting them out of the box in which 

 I had deposited them, each spread its wings, and in 

 a moment rose up with an ease and lightness that 

 greatly surprised me. A bird could not have got 

 on wing with more agility. I suffered them to 

 fly about my room for some time. They occasion- 

 ally alighted on the cornice, on the frames of my 

 pictures, and on the top of my book^case. Their 

 flight was directed principally along the ceiling ; 



* Vespertilio cturitus. Linnaeus. VOreillar. Buffbn, 

 For the description of this Bat, see the Synopsis, p. 5, No, 2. 



and 



