SOME COMMON MAMMALS. 135 



often 'die if awakened out of it. They sometimes waken 

 and fly abroad in mild weather, but this does not appear 

 to happen often. 



A teacher friend has sent me a long- eared bat. It is 

 one of the commoner species, and I have had it drawn and 

 figured (Figs. 43, 44). Let us examine it. What is a bat? 



WRIST 



THUMB 



"FINflERS 



Fig. 43. The long-eared Bat. 



Let this be our first question. A live bat held in the 

 hand is felt to be a warm-blooded, furry animal. We know 

 that they bring forth their young and suckle them with 

 milk. Bats are therefore mammals. Zoologists place them 

 in an Order of mammals to which the name Cheiroptera is 

 given (Cheir = hand ; Pteron = wing) . They are mam- 

 mals with hands modified to serve as wings. 



Our bat has extraordinarily long ears, thin, translucent, 

 and transversely folded, extremely delicate and sensitive 

 structures. No doubt its hearing is extremely acute. 

 Bats are great moth-hunters, and it is quite possible they 

 may detect the sound of the fluttering of the moth's wings. 

 The membrane of the ears is doubtless extremely sensitive. 

 Some bats have folds upon their noses (nose-leaved bats) 



