54 OBSERVATIONS ON QUADRUPEDS. 



Happening, on one occasion, to throw a dead long- 

 eared bat to a cat, the latter was observed to seize 

 it with the greatest avidity, at the same time utter- 

 ing a kind of savage growl (as cats often do when 

 they capture a favourite prey) ; and presently retiring 

 with it to a corner, soon devoured it entire, not re- 

 jecting even the flying membranes. This was a 

 well-fed, parlour cat, and apparently not suffering 

 particularly from hunger. On repeating the ex- 

 periment with another cat, this last took not the 

 least notice of the bat whatever, though repeatedly 

 placed in its way. This shows how different indi- 

 viduals of the same species will occasionally differ 

 in respect of food; and how little importance is 

 to be attached to the fact of any particular food 

 being selected by an animal in a single instance. 

 Thus I have seen, in some botanical books, men- 

 tion made, in the case of certain plants, that " a 

 horse ate it," or " a cow refused it ;" when perhaps, 

 on a second trial, another horse would have refused 

 it, and another cow have eaten it. 



It is probable, also, that all animals, from hunger, 

 or some other cause, will deviate occasionally from 

 their usual food. We have an example of this in 

 the case of the hedge-hog that devoured a snake, 

 recorded by Mr. Broderip ;* another, in that of the 

 polecat which has been known to prey on eels.f 

 Owls, rooks, jackdaws, and carrion-crows have all 



* Zool. Journ. vol. ii. p. 19. 



f Bewick's Quad. (edit. 8.) p. 253. The stoat also sometimes 

 devours eels : see a notice of this fact further on in this work, 

 communicated to me by Mr. Selhy. 



