IDENTIFICATION. 101 



further shown by the presence of the earlet within the ear. Are the 

 ears united at their base ? No, and it can be neither the long-eared 

 species nor the Barbastelle. Does the margin of the ear end 

 opposite the inner edge of the earlet, or does it extend to the angle 

 of the mouth ? It reaches very nearly to the mouth. The genus is 

 Vesfrerugo. Turning to our preceding chapter we find that the 

 genus is divisible into two groups, those in which the wing 

 membrane rises from the base of the toes, and those in which it rises 

 from the ankle. Our specimen belongs to the first of these groups. 

 It must, therefore, be one of three. Look at the membrane near 

 the spur, if that is narrow the bat is the Serotine ; but the membrane 

 is broad, so that it must be one of the other two, as is evident from 

 its size, for it is under two inches in length, though about eight 

 inches across the wings. It is not, however, the parti-coloured bat, 

 as its colour is reddish brown, and not brown and white, and we are 

 therefore safe in assuming that it is the Pipistrelle, an opinion in 

 which we are confirmed when we refer to the brief description of 

 that species in the notes. 



An insectivore will give us much less trouble. If it is spiny it is 

 a hedgehog ; if it has no ears it is a mole ; if it has ears and not a 

 spiny coat it is a shrew ; if its feet are fringed with hair, and its tail 

 has a long, hairy fringe below, it is the water shrew ; if not, it is one 

 of the two land shrews, Sorex, and a reference to that genus in the 

 fifth chapter will show which. 



A carnivore will give us a longer run, though we will not choose 

 the fox, but something smaller. It is not a seal, but unmistakably 

 an animal of the land. Count its hind toes. There are five of 

 them. Then it is neither a cat nor a fox, for they have but four. 

 Are its toes webbed ? No. Then it is not an otter. Has it a long 

 tail ? No. Then it is not a marten. Are its fore claws longer than 

 its hind claws ? No. Then it is not a badger, and its genus can 

 only be Putorius. But which of the four species ? Has it a black 

 tip to its tail ? No. Then it is neither of the Stoats. Its tail is 

 tipped with brown, its body is brown on the back and sides and 

 white underneath, and it is about six inches long. In fact, our 

 carnivore is a Weasel. 



As an example of the rodents we cannot do better than take a 

 mouse. Is its tail long or short ? Long. Is the tail hairy or scaly ? 

 Hairy. Then it is the Dormouse, as we shall find by the presence 

 of the one pair of premolars in each jaw. But a Dormouse is not a 

 mouse in all senses ; let us take one in which the tail is short and 

 hairy. It must be one of the Voles, as a glance at its teeth will 

 show, for it will have no premolars at all, and its molars will be 

 divided into a series of alternate triangles. It is not over six inches 

 in length, and consequently is not the Water Vole, and it is greyish 

 and not chestnut on the back, so that it must be the Field Vole, as 

 we can assure ourselves by counting the number of its teeth prisms. 

 One more British rodent, this time with a long scaly tail. It can 

 belong to no other genus than Mils, and as it is under five inches 

 long, barring the tail, it is not a rat unless it be a young one, and 



