TYPICAL GROUP. 



279 



bat is, however, readily distinguished by the comparative richness of its coloration, 

 which has a somewhat marbled appearance, owing to the light tips of the hairs. 

 Above, the colour of the fur is reddish-brown, with the tips of the hairs white ; 

 while all the under-parts are of a dirty white tint. Up to the year 1874 only one 

 individual captured at Plymouth of this bat had been obtained in Britain, and 

 wr are not aware that any instance of occurrence has been recorded since. It has 

 accordingly been suggested that the Plymouth example may have been imported 

 in the rigging of some ship. On the Continent the parti-coloured bat is widely 

 spread, but it is chiefly found in mountain districts ; its range extending from Italy 

 and France to Southern Sweden and the Ural Mountains. In Asia it has been 

 observed in Western Siberia and Eastern Turkestan. 



Silver-haired The last member of the genus to which we allude is a North 



Bat- American species, known as the silver-haired bat (V. noctivagans), 

 which is the sole representative of a group characterised by having three premolar 

 teeth on each side of the lower jaw, and also by the hairiness of the membrane 

 between the legs. In the upper jaw there are two premolars on each side. The fur 

 above is dark brown, becoming silvery- white at the tips in the region of the back ; 

 and there is a very characteristic white spot at the base of the brown ears. 



The silver-haired bat has the most northern range of any American species, 

 extending to Hudson's Bay, and southwards to California. In the Adirondack 

 Mountains, near New York, Dr. Hart Merriam states that it is by far the commonest 

 of all the bats. "Like many bats," writes Dr. Merriam, "it has a decided liking 

 for waterways, coursing up and down streams and rivers, and circling around 

 lakes and ponds. In some places its habit of keeping directly over the water is 

 very marked. At Lyon's Falls it is exceedingly abundant, particularly just below 

 the falls. I have stood, gun in hand, on a point on the east bank of the river, and 

 have seen hundreds passing and repassing, flying over the water, while during the 

 entire evening not more than two or three strayed so far that if shot they would 

 fall on land. Several that were wounded and fell into the water, at a distance of 

 twelve or fifteen feet from the bank, swam ashore. They swam powerfully and 

 swiftly, for the current is here quite strong, and would otherwise have carried them 

 some distance down stream. Next to water-courses, the borders of hard-wood 

 groves are the favourite haunts of the silver-haired bats. By standing close under 

 the edge of the trees one sees many that at a little distance would pass unobserved. 

 While searching for their insect-prey they may be seen to dart in and out among 

 the branches, and to penetrate, in various directions, the thick mass of foliage over- 

 head. They often pass within a few inches of one's face, and yet it is rare that a 

 sound is heard from their delicate wings. In the early dark the silver-haired bat 

 emerges from its hiding-place ; after a few turns about the immediate neighbour- 

 hood, it generally takes a pretty direct course for water. I have seen it start from 

 the summit of a high, densely wooded hill, circle around for a few minutes, and 

 then, keeping far above the tree-tops, sail leisurely towards a distant river till lost 

 from sight in the valley below. And, standing on the banks of the large stream 

 that winds along the foot of the hill, I have seen the bats flying over at a height 

 several hundred feet, all moving in the same direction toward a more distant 

 river. Whether it remains abroad all night, or limits itself to comparatively brief 



