NATURAL HISTORY. 



of the tail, and three feet broad, when the membranes, 

 which serve it for wings, are fully extended. The 

 rougette, whose hair is of a reddish ash-colour, is 

 hardly more than five inches and a half long, and two 

 feet broad ; and its neck is half-encircled with a stripe 

 of hair of a lively red, intermixed with orange-colour, 

 of which we perceive no vestige on the neck of the 

 rotissette : they both belong nearly to the same hot 

 cjimates of the Old Continent. We meet with them 

 in Madagascar, in the island of Bourbon, in Ternate, 

 in the Philippine, and other islands of the Indian 

 Archipelago : where, indeed, they seem to be more ge- 

 neral tftan in the neighbouring continents. 



In the hotter countries of the New WorLi, we like- 

 wise meet with another flying quadruped, of which we 

 know not the American name, but to which I will af- 

 fix that of spectre, or vampyre, because it sucks the 

 blood of men, and of animals, while they are asleep, 

 without awaking them : this American animal is of 

 a species different from those of the roussette and the 

 rougette, which are both to be found solely in Africa, 

 and in the southern parts of Asia. 



The spectre is smaller than the roulette, which is 

 itself smaller than the roussette : the farmer, when ii 

 flies* seems to be of the size of a pigeon ; the second 

 of the size of a raven ; and the third of the S\:K of a 

 large hen. Of both the roussette, and the rougette, 

 the head is tolerably well shaped ; the ears are short, 

 and nearly like that of a dog. Of the spectre, on the 

 contrary, the nose is longer; the aspect is as hideous 

 as that of the ugliest bats ; the head is unshapely, and 

 surmounted with large ears, very open, and very 

 straight; its nose is disfigured. Its nostrils resemble 

 a funnel, and have a membrane at the top, wiiieb rises 



Vol. I. Q q 



