DAUBENTON'S BAT. 41 



toes, and that of the interfemoral leaves the last joint of the 

 tail free. 



The combined length of head and body is about two inches ; 

 of the tail an inch and a half. The ears are about three- 

 quarters of an inch in length and half an inch wide ; the tragus 

 half the length of the ear. The expanse of the wings is ten 

 inches. The single young is born about midsummer. 



Bechstein's is the rarest of British bats, and so far has been 

 recorded only from the South of England, the localities being 

 the New Forest, Isle of Wight, Sussex, Berkshire, and Oxford- 

 shire. Our knowledge of its habits is derived chiefly from 

 the Continent, where it flies about woods, orchards, and the 

 neighbourhood of dwellings, coming out from its retreat late in 

 the evening and flying slowly and low over lanes and woodland 

 roads, but only in calm weather. It is restricted to Central 

 and Southern Europe. 



Daubenton's Bat {Myotis daubentonii^ Kuhl). 



Daubenton's or the Water Bat was formerly considered one 

 of our rarest Bats, but is known now to be one of the most 

 widely distributed and plentiful species. It had probably been 

 mistaken for the Common Bat or Pipistrelle to which it comes 

 near in point of size, though its habits are different. It keeps 

 close to the water, especially to some alder-sheltered pool in 

 the river where there are plenty of caddis-flies and other 

 insects. There from an hour before sunset it flies slowly in 

 circles, frequently dipping its muzzle into the water to pick up 

 surface insects. In such places the evening fly-fisher sometimes 

 finds this Bat caught on his hook. It appears to be on the 

 wing all night. It was probably to this Bat that Gilbert White 

 referred in his eleventh letter to Pennant, when he said : "As I 

 was going, some years ago, pretty late, in a boat from Richmond 

 to Sunbury, on a warm summers evening, I think I saw 



