432 



BATS. 



The Vampire (PhyUostoma spectrum}, which has been accused of destroying even 

 men. It is said generally to alight near the feet, and, fanning the victim with its enor- 

 mous wings, to bite a piece out of the tip of the great toe, so very small that the head 

 of a pin could scarcely be' received into the wound, yet through this orifice it contrives 

 to suck blood until gorged. It must not be imagined, however, that the vampires are 

 exclusively nourished by the blood of animals ; they live on insects, after the manner of 

 other bats, as has been proved by inspection of the contents of their stomachs. 



FIG. 479. HEADS OF RHINOLOPHUS FKKRUM EQUINUM AND MEGADEKMA FKOXS. 



The Horse-shoe Bats (Rhinoloplws)* have their nose furnished with 



membranes and crests 

 of a very complicated 

 description, occasion- 

 ally presenting alto- 

 gether somewhat the 

 figure of a horse-shoe. 

 They inhabit dark 

 caverns, where they 

 remain isolated, sus- 

 pended by their feet, 

 and enveloped in their 

 wings. 



The Common Bat 



( Vcspcrtilio pipistrclla] is 

 about the size of a mouse. 

 Its body is covered with 

 a skort dusky fur, tinged 

 with red: the eyes and 

 the ears are small. This 

 little bat makes its ap- 

 pearance in the twilight of 

 fine summer evenings, 

 frequenting the sides of 



FlG. 480. PlI'ISTRELLE 



* pij>, rhin, the nose ; X60os, lophos, a crest. 



