Noctule and Cockchafer 315 



marauders, which proved to be Haliastur Indus, a very 

 beautiful but common bird. There were also several 

 specimens of a Hawk, working away on the Bats in a very 

 business-like manner, and woe betide the unfortunate Bat 

 singled out from its flock and put in chase ! The way those 

 Hawks took the Bats one after the other was astonishing, 

 and strongly reminded me of a man eating oysters. I shot 

 several of these Hawks, but only secured one, the others 

 being lost over the side of the cliff. It proved to be the 

 rare Machirhamphus alcinus y remarkable for the size of its 

 gape and its small beak, both of which very much resemble 

 those of the Swift. Its habits in taking its prey are also 

 similar, the Swift catching and swallowing its prey while on 

 the wing, in the same way as this Hawk does. 



" Arising before daylight, I witnessed a reversal of the 

 proceedings of the previous night, the Swifts now going out 

 of Simud Putih, and the Bats going into Simud Itam. The 

 latter literally " rained " into their chasm for two hours 

 after daylight. On looking up, the air seemed filled with 

 small specks, which flashed down perpendicularly with great 

 rapidity, and disappeared in the darkness below." 



The perpendicular descent of Mr Fryer's Bats recalls an 

 interesting experience I had with a Noctule at Llanuwchllyn. 

 As already mentioned, when these Bats visited us there, it 

 was always very high up in the air that they were seen, 

 coursing swiftly about like Swallows. One evening, about 

 the end of June, I was seated, at dusk, on a stile overlooking 

 a still reach on the Lliw, awaiting the rise of a good trout. 

 It was absolutely calm, and one or two Long-eared Bats, and 

 Noctules, were hawking about, the latter as usual high over- 

 head. Suddenly there was a loud rush of wings, rather 

 recalling the sound made by a drumming snipe, and 

 looking up, I saw a Noctule descending like a falling stone, 

 only that its wings were in rapid motion. It flew headlong 

 to within a few feet of the water before sheering off, and, as 

 it did so, something fell with a splash into the water. As 

 it floated, I had no difficulty in getting the latter ashore, 

 when it proved to be a Cockchafer. The Bat must therefore 

 have met the beetle high in the air, have knocked it over, 



