MAMMALS 



3. Long-eared Bat. Plecotiis auritus, Linn. 

 Common throughout the county. 



4. Barbastelle. Barbastella barbastellus, 



Schreber. 



Bell — Barbastellus daubentonii. 

 This bat was first discovered in our islands 

 at Dartford in Kent, and subsequently taken 

 in a chalk cave at Chislehurst.' There is a 

 specimen in Maidstone Museum from Ming- 

 ton, presented by H. G. T. Drake, dated 

 September 1898, and another Kentish speci- 

 men preserved in spirit. 



5. Serotine. Vespertilio serotinus, Schreber. 



Bell — Scotophilus serotinus. 

 Several times reported. Taken at Folke- 

 stone (Lydekker), and Mr. H. Elgar, assistant 

 curator of Maidstone Museum, informs the 

 writer that it is plentiful at Yalding. It is 

 often mistaken for the noctule, and is probably 

 more common than is supposed. 



6. Great or White's Bat (Noctule). Pipi- 



strellus, Schreber. 



Bell — Scotophilus noctula. 



White — Vespertilis altivolans. 

 Seen frequently in the county. Mr. George 

 Dowker ^ records that at Stourmouth (near 

 Canterbury) in April 1884 several of these 

 bats were turned out from the rotten branch 

 of a walnut tree, where they had been hiber- 

 nating. All were males, and each measured 

 14 in. in the expanse of its wings. They 

 were captured alive and kept in a cage, but 

 soon after died, for they all refused food. A 



large number of these hibernate each winter 

 in Mr. Dowker's house (at Stourbridge), 

 emerging from their winter courses about the 

 middle of May. He counted fifty-six noc- 

 tules emerging from winter quarters on 

 17 May, 1889, at 8 o'clock in the morning. 

 On the following evening about forty were 

 counted. Three of these were shot, and 

 proved to be females, and their expanded 

 wings each measured 14 in. 



7. Pipistrelle or Common Bat. Pipistrellus 



pipistrellus, Schreber. 

 Bell — Scotophilus pipistrellus. 

 This small bat is very common. 



8. Natterer's Bat. Myotis nattereri, Kuhl. 



Bell — Vespertilio nattereri. 

 Bell recorded this from Kent, and Mr. 

 Dowker says it has been taken from Chisle- 

 hurst and Tonbridge. There is a very old 

 specimen from Simmons in Maidstone 

 Museum. 



9. Daubenton's Bat. Myotis daubentoni, 



Leisler. 

 Bell — Vespertilic daubentonii. 

 Mr. Dowker mentions^ that it has been 

 recorded from Dover. 



10. Whiskered Bat. Myotis mystacinus, Leis- 

 ler. 



Bell — Vespertilio mystacinus. 

 Recorded by Bell from Chislehurst. It is 

 possible that it is often mistaken for the 

 pipistrelle. 



INSECTIVORA 



1 1 . Hedgehog. Erinaceus europtsiis, Linn. 

 This animal is very common throughout the 



county. There is no doubt that it is an egg 

 stealer, for it can be caught with an egg as a 

 bait. It has the peculiar habit of taking one 

 or two eggs each night from a nest, sometimes 

 from under the hen, unlike most other 

 robbers, which destroy a whole clutch at 

 a time. These destructive habits make it 

 an enemy to the gamekeeper ; but the good 

 it does on the land as an insect eater goes far 

 to outweigh them. 



12. Mole. Talpa europaa, Linn. 

 Common in woods and field alike. Un- 

 doubtedly these animals do an incalculable 

 amount of good by destroying injurious 

 ground pests such as the wireworm. If mole 



> Lydekker, British Mammals, 1895. 

 » South-Eastern Naturalist, i. 1891. 



heaps are seen in a field, there is evidence that 

 the destructive larvas are abundant. 



13. Common Shrew. Sorex araneuSjhinn. 

 Very common. 



14. Pigmy Shrew. Sorex minutus, Pallas. 



Bell — Sorex pygmasus. 

 This tiny mammal is getting rare. It very 

 often escapes notice, but it has been seen in 

 the leaves under the hornbeam trees on the 

 Cobham Hall estate. Its gradual extinction 

 may perhaps be accounted for by the preser- 

 vation of the owl, which is now generally 

 free from persecution. 



15. Water Shrew. Neomys fodiens,'P3ilhs. 



Bell — Crossopus fodiens. 

 Distributed through the county, but does 

 not seem to be abundant. There are two 

 specimens in the Maidstone Museum, 

 s Ibid. 



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