190 



FAMILY VESPERTILIONID.E. LONG-EARED BAT. 



It is very easily tamed, and is soon brought to show a con- 

 siderable degree of familiarity with those who feed and caress it, 



H 



FIG. 91 LONG-EARED BAT. 



so as to take a fly from the hand, or even from between the lips. 



It is very playful in confine- 

 ment, when placed with others 

 of its own species, its gambols 

 being very amusing ; and it is 

 very cleanly in its habits. 

 The ears are usually folded 

 under the arm during sleep 

 and hybernation; and its ap- 

 pearance is so remarkably 

 altered by this action, that it 

 would be scarcely supposed 

 to be the same animal, by 

 a person who had not wit- 

 nessed the change. It has an 

 acute and shrill, but not a 

 loud cry ; but when disturbed, 

 the sound becomes more pierc- 

 ing. Its retreat is nearly the 



same as that of the Common Bat ; and in some parts of the 



country it is the more abundant of the two. 



FIG. 92. LONG-EARED BAT IN REPOSE. 



