98 imiNOLOPHID.E. 



which it occurs, and probably flies higher than the pre- 

 ceding species." 



It is not rare at Cirencester ; and in Warwickshire it 



has been observed in at least two localities. A single 



example was taken by us in a loft over a smith's forge, 



in the villao-e of Welford ; and we found it on another 



occasion in considerable numbers in the roof of the 



mansion of the Marquis of Hertford, at Ragley, near 



Alcester. Amongst the massive timbers supporting the 



roof of this noble but now neglected residence, once the 



resort of royalty, are many pieces bearing evidences of 



former fittings by the augur and chisel, and in these 



holes a considerable number of the Long-eared Bat were 



found, chiefly in pairs, but although several of the 



Horse-shoe Bats were seen flitting in the deep gloom, 



broken only by an occasional gleam of light through 



some small crevice, and by our lighted candle, yet a 



careful search was for some time unrewarded by the 



discovery of a single individuhl in its resting-place. A 



great accumulation of excrement around a huge central 



stack of chimneys at length attracted attention, and a 



long stick, thrust upwards in a narrow opening between 



the chimneys, soon dislodged several of these Bats, which 



were caught as they descended, and before they were 



well on the wing, after which pursuit proved useless. 



Some of these examples being at various times liberated 



in a room, exhibited extraordinary powers of flight. 



One of them, turned loose with a Pipistrelle, as noticed 



in our history of the Greater Horse-shoe Bat, displayed 



in its search for a means of exit an ability which was 



quite extraordinary. It literally flew into every part of 



the room, and behind and under everything, even under 



a bookcase standing against a wall, although there was 



scarcely a space of three inches between it and the floor. 



