BRITISH MAMMALS 



Eared Bat, and appears to retire from its labours during 

 the silent watches of the night, ceasing its insect-catching 

 long before daybreak next morning. On one occasion 

 we discovered in a porch a large collection of the shorn 

 wing-cases of Flying Beetles, as well as the wings of 

 Moths and other insects. The ground under the 

 aperture was strewn with the discarded remains, and a 

 watch that was kept next evening resulted in one of these 

 Bats being seen in the act of bringing prey to its " eating- 

 house," a habit we have not previously seen recorded. 

 The incident opened up a further interesting point in 

 regard to Bat-life, as we were able to ascertain, with 

 some degree of certainty, the toll of insects that is nightly 

 taken by these winged denizens of the air. When 

 flying in a fading light, or at dusk, it is difficult to follow 

 in detail the movements of a restless Bat intent upon its 

 self-appointed mission, and one can only roughly approxi- 

 mate the vast number of insects it captures, but the 

 instance cited enabled a fair computation to be made of 

 the result of one night's raid. On another occasion we 

 were tempted to watch a Spotted Flycatcher which was 

 apparently in a very hungry mood. Although a bird, 

 the comparison is interesting as showing how dependent 

 we are upon these insectivorous folk to rid the air of 

 pests whose numbers require drastic thinning, and to 

 whose untiring efforts we humans owe more than is 

 generally recognised. The bird in question undertook 

 fifty flights after insects in a quarter of an hour, to all 



intents and purposes being successful in its quest on 

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