BRITISH MAMMALS 



among these exploits in mid-air are the power upon the 

 wing, the sudden hovering Hke a bird of prey (such as 

 the Kestrel), and an unexpected falling motion of several 

 inches which is due to the creature having caught its 

 prey, and requiring the use of its " thumb " to adjust 

 the tit-bit that has been secured. It has strong jaws 

 and a broad muzzle, both well calculated to aid the 

 Noctule in obtaining its living, and to see several of these 

 winged creatures hawking together at nightfall is an 

 experience not easily forgotten. 



Pipistrelle Bat. — Claiming kinship with the same 

 genus, Vesperugo, the little Pipistrelle next courts our 

 attention. This species is easily the best known, and as 

 it is a day-flier as well as a night-prowler, the obsei-ver 

 is more likely to be conversant with it. We have seen it 

 insect-hunting on a mild, sunny day in December, and 

 sometimes in the early Spring, when two or three are 

 observed scouring the surface of a wayside pond for 

 food, we have frequently mistaken the flying mammal 

 for that welcome harbinger of Summer, the fair}--like 

 Swallow. The Pipistrelle has a wing-stretch of about 

 eight inches. The fur is long and silky, reddish-brown 

 above and dusky below. This species is a familiar 

 inhabitant of the whole of Europe, and also extends into 

 the temperate parts of Asia and Northern Africa. It 

 comes from its Winter retreat earlier than any other 

 British Bat, and also frequents dwellings to a far greater 

 extent than any of its relatives. It is a swift flier, with 

 quick movement of wing, turning and twisting with 

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