52 ANIMAL LIFE OF THE BRITISH ISLES. 



The long, soft fur is a very dark brown, but many of the 

 hairs on the upper surface have pale tips which produce a frosted 

 appearance ; on the lower surface such light tips are more 

 numerous, and are specially evident along the middle line of the 

 abdomen. The wing, ear, nose, and foot are dusky, appearing 

 lighter than the furred regions. 



The head and body measure about two inches, and the tail 

 an inch and three-quarters. The expanse of wings is about ten 

 and a third inches. This and the Long-eared Bat are the only 

 British species whose ears connect ; and the form of the ear in 

 each is so distinct that there is no danger of confusing them. 

 It is both solitary and silent in flight, which begins early in 

 the evening, often in daylight ; it holds its feet far apart and the 

 tail decurved. In fine weather it flies high. During its diurnal 

 rest it has been found in various retreats, often in company : 

 under thatch of a shed, between the rafters and tiles of out- 

 houses, behind a cottage shutter, in the crevices of walls and 

 trees. Its voice is a metallic squeak or a buzz. 



It has one premolar less on each side than the Long-eared 

 Bat, so that its dental formula stands thus : z f, c }, p , m = 34. 



As a British Bat, the Barbastelle is found chiefly in the 

 South of England, though it has been recorded from all the 

 English counties between the Severn and the Wash ; also 

 Lincoln, Cheshire, and Cumberland (Carlisle). It appears to 

 be absent from Scotland, Ireland, and the Isle of Man. 



FOX (Vvlpes amis, Linn.). 



It is safe to say that, except in the wildest and most remote 

 corners of our island, the Fox would have been placed long ago 

 in the list of extinct British mammals, but for its careful pre- 

 servation by the various " hunts." In recent times that is 

 since fox-hunting became a fashionable sport the poultry and 

 sheep-raising agriculturist has had to bear heavy losses in order 



