THE LONG-EARED BAT 83 



often they are gregarious, living in enormous companies, 

 rivalled in point of numbers only by the great flocks of sea- 

 birds which resort to certain localities in the nesting season. 



They generally spend the day in sleep, hanging head 

 downwards by the claws of their hind feet in caves, hollows 

 of trees, and, in fact, any dark recess ; in Temperate regions 

 they are especially fond of taking cover under roofs or in 

 the corners and crevices of deserted and ruined buildings. 

 Nocturnal in habit, they seldom emerge from their hiding- 

 places until at least twilight, although the rule is not without 

 exception. On the approach of cold weather the creatures 

 hibernate in some place likely to allow them to remain safe 

 from molestation. It is stated that some of the Canadian 

 Bats migrate southwards to avoid the long and severe 

 winters. 



There are over a hundred and thirty known species of Bat ; 

 probably there are many more, but their main charac- 

 teristics are so similar that a description of a few of the best 

 known will serve for the whole. In the British Isles there 

 are more than a dozen species, all of which are among the 

 smallest of their kind, and all are insectivorous. 



LONG-EARED BAT (Plecdtus auritus). 

 Coloured Plate IV. Fig. 3. 



The Long-eared Bat, whose generic and specific names 

 signify folded ears and long-ears respectively, is an excellent 

 example, though not the commonest, of our British Bats. 

 It is found in Europe, North Africa, and in Central and 

 Western Asia. Even including the tail it is only about four 

 inches in length, with a wing spread of thirteen or fourteen 

 inches. It is the most pleasing of our native Bats 

 owing to the transparency and beauty of its ears, which in 

 proportion to the size of the head are exceptionally large 

 (Plate VII. Fig. 3). They are exceedingly mobile, moving 

 backwards and forwards as the animal listens intently to 

 any sound, or they gracefully fold up when their owner 

 wishes to sleep. The ears are peculiar in that they possess 

 a tragus, or inner lobe. It really looks as if the animal has 



