3^ LLOYD'S NATURAL HISTORY. 



to the wrist, and it is from this character that the Hairy-armed 

 Bat derives its common English name. 



Distribution. Ranging over the greater part of Europe and 

 temperate Asia, the present Bat appears to be a rare species 

 in Britain, although this rarity is doubtless owing to its being 

 frequently mistaken for the Noctule. In the main, it appears 

 to be confined to the western counties of England, having 

 been recorded from Worcester, Gloucester, and Warwick ; 

 but, according to Mr. Montagu Browne, it is unknown as far 

 north as Leicestershire, as also in the Lake District. It has been 

 obtained from more than one Irish locality notably Belfast. 



Habits. Much apparently remains to be learned regarding 

 the habits of this Bat, there being a discrepancy in the accounts 

 given by Continental and British observers. While all are 

 agreed that it makes its appearance early in the evening, 

 Blasius, for instance, states that it also resembles the Noctule 

 in frequenting the neighbourhood of trees, and flying at a con- 

 siderable altitude with a similar powerful flight. On the other 

 hand, Bell writes that its flight is totally different from that of 

 the latter, observing that " whilst the Noctule may, throughout 

 the whole of the summer, be seen taking its regular evening 

 flight, night after night, near the same spot, the Leisler's Bat, 

 on the contrary, will be seen once, perhaps for a few minutes 

 only and then lost sight of. It appears to affect no particular 

 altitude in its flight, any more than it preserves any regular or 

 prescribed beat. When the weather is fine, you may see this 

 Bat passing on in a kind of zig-zag manner, apparently uncertain 

 where to go, generally, though not always, at a considerable 

 elevation, and in a few minutes it is gone." 



V. THE PIPiSTRELLE OR COMMON BAT. VESPERUGO 

 PIPISTRELLUS. 



Vespertilio pipistrellus, Schreber, Saugethiere vol. i. p. 167 

 (1775)- 



