HISTORY OF QUADRUPEDS. 513 



THE BAT. 



THIS singular animal is distinguished from every 

 other quadruped by being furnished with wings, 

 and seems to possess a middle nature between four- 

 footed animals and birds : it is allied to the one by 

 the faculty of flying only, to the other both by its 

 external and internal structure: in each respect it 

 has the appearance of an imperfect animal. In 

 walking, its feet seem to be entangled with its 

 wings, and it drags its body on the ground with 

 extreme awkwardness. Its motions in the air do 

 not seem to be performed with ease; it raises itself 

 from the ground with difficulty, and its flight is 

 laboured and ill-directed; whence it has very sig- 

 nificantly been called the FLITTER-MOUSE. There 

 are several varieties of the Bat kind. 



THE SHORT-EARED BAT. 



( Vesper tilio Murinus, Linn. Le Chauve Sour is , 

 Buff.) 



Is found in almost every part of Europe, and is 

 most commonly known in Great Britain. Its usual 

 VOL. in. 3 T 



