GREATER HORSESHOE BAT 



every occasion. We were not tempted to pursue the 

 matter further ; but if a computation could be made as 

 to even the approximate number of insects one pair of 

 Flycatchers (or Bats) destroy during a season, we venture 

 to suggest the sum total would be likely to stagger anyone 

 who was not sufficiently well qualified to appreciate 

 seven or more figures of the multiplication table ! 



Greater Horseshoe Bat. — All our British Bats are 

 insect-eaters, and should, in consequence, be encouraged ; 

 but in foreign lands the handsome Fruit Bats, or Flying 

 Foxes, as they are also called, are characteristic of the 

 warmer regions of the Old World. As a rule, one or more 

 specimens of these lovely creatures may be seen in one 

 of the heated houses at the London Zoo, and an oppor- 

 tunity should be taken of paying a visit to the famous 

 collection of animals in Regent's Park if it is desired to 

 make a comparison between these handsome fellows 

 from a warmer country, and the sombre-clad Bats of our 

 own changeable clime. 



The Horseshoe Bats belong to the genus Rhinohphus , 



to which the Leaf-Nosed Bats {Hipposiderus) of other 



climes are closely related. The two British species 



may at once be distinguished by the possession of a 



prominent nose-leaf which entirely surrounds the nostrils , 



these latter being situate in a depression of the snout. 



They have also well-developed ears of large dimensions, 



and these are, as a rule, set far apart on the head. The 



shape of the nose-leaf also deserves mentioning, as it is 



made up of two portions, the one directly over the nose 



31 



