32 The Natural History 



At present I know only two species of bats, the 

 common vespertilio ?nurifius and the vespertilio auritus. 



I was much entertained last summer with a tame bat, 

 which would take flies out of a person's hand. If you 

 gave it anything to eat, it brought its wings round before 

 the mouth, hovering and hiding its head in the manner 

 of birds of prey when they feed. The adroitness it 

 showed in shearing off the wings of the flies, which were 

 always rejected, was worthy of observation, and pleased 

 me much. Insects seem to be most acceptable, though 

 it did not refuse raw flesh when off"ered : so that the 

 notion that bats go down chimnies and gnaw men's 

 bacon, seems no improbable story. While I amused 

 myself with this wonderful quadruped, I saw it several 

 times confute the vulgar opinion, that bats when down 

 on a flat surface cannot get on the wing again, by rising 

 with great ease from the floor. It ran, I observed, with 

 more dispatch than I was aware of; but in a most 

 ridiculous and grotesque manner. 



Bats drink on the wing, like swallows, by sipping the 

 surface, as they play over pools and streams. They love 

 to frequent waters, not only for the sake of drinking, but 

 on account of insects, which are found over them in the 

 greatest plenty. As I was going, some years ago, pretty 

 late, in a boat from Richmond to Sunbury, on a warm 

 summer's evening, I think I saw myriads of bats between 

 the two places : the air swarmed with them all along the 

 Thames, so that hundreds were in sight at a time. 



I am, etc. 



LETTER XII 



TO THOMAS PENNANT, ESQUIRE 



November 4, 1767 



Sir, 



It gave me no small satisfaction to hear that Wi^fako'^ 

 turned out an uncommon one. I must confess I should 



^ This hawk proved to be \ht falco pcrcgrinus ; a variety. 



