THE BRITISH MAMMALS : THEIR GENERA AND SPECIES. 71 



and, with us, ranges into Ireland, and at least as far north as 

 Argyleshire, its resting-places being never in trees, but always in 

 buildings or caverns. 



REDDISH-GREY BAT. 

 ( Vespertilio na ttereri.) 



Bechstein's Bat has longer ears and a shorter tail than the pre- 

 ceding, the ears being much longer than the head, and the tail being 

 shorter than the head and body. The membrane connecting the 

 legs is not fringed with hairs. On the upper surface the dark brown 

 hairs have reddish tips, on the under parts the tips are ashy. The 

 head and body measure two inches, the tail is half an inch shorter, the 

 ear is an inch in length, and the fore-arm measures two inches. This 

 species is confined to Europe north of the Alps, and in the British 

 Isles, up to the present, has only been captured in Hampshire. 



The Mouse-coloured Bat has large blunt ears, a little longer than 

 the head, and a straight earlet, with rather a sharp point. The 

 muzzle is conical, and the nostrils are close together. The wing- 

 membrane rises from slightly above the base of the toes ; the 

 membrane between the legs is hairy on the upper surface, but not 

 fringed, and the tail just projects beyond its edge. The head and 

 body measure two inches and three-quarters ; the tail is a 

 trifle over two inches in length, the fore-arm over two inches 

 and a half, and the third digit measures four inches. This is 

 the largest British Bat, its wing-spread reaching fifteen inches. It is 

 mouse-coloured above and greyer below, the hairs being all dark in 

 their lower portions. Only a few examples of this large species are 

 recorded as British, and they seem to have been caught in the 

 garden of the British Museum, but there is no reason why it should 

 not cross the Channel. It is common all over the Continent, and 

 ranges into India and Abyssinia. 



The Whiskered Bat is recognisable at once by its moustache 

 and by its wing-membrane starting from the base of its outer toe. 

 The ears are as long as the head, and the earlet is long and straight, 



