24 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



banks adjoining woods and plantations seem particularly attractive to them. 

 In spots like this, pleasingly varied by a sprinkling of old mossy stumps, 

 brambles, and bushes, with roots of overhanging trees, backed by deep 

 cavernous recesses, the Bank Vole makes its burrow and forms runs in all 

 directions, partly above and partly below the surface, probably also making 

 use of those of the Mole. The one I saw had made its burrow in the side 

 of a bank facing and sloping down to a small stream, the burrow evidently 

 going into and amongst the roots of a wild rose-bush above it. The appetite 

 of the Bank Vole has caused much trouble amongst naturalists. The one 

 I saw emerging from its burrow slid gracefully down the bank, curled his 

 tail around a projecting root and deliberately dived under water, shortly after 

 emerging with the roots of the duck-weed in his mouth ; this he devoured, 

 sitting on the aforesaid root. His repast over, he cleaned himself a little, 

 and then quietly returned to his hole, never having observed me, although 

 I was not two yards distant. — W. Finch, Jun. (Nottingham). 



[The diving and returning with duck-weed is very suggestive of the 

 behaviour of a young Water Vole, but we presume our correspondent is 

 sufficiently well acquainted with both species as to have made no mistake 

 in its identification. — Ed.] 



Bank Vole in Sussex. — Having noticed in recent numbers of 'The 

 Zoologist' several letters on the distribution of the Bank Vole, I send 

 some of my experiences of that little auimal in Sussex. I used to catch a 

 fair number of them near Lancing, in a disused chalk pit overgrown with 

 bushes and weeds. I used a strong mouse-trap baited with an unbleached 

 almond, and set it either at the mouth of a hole or near one, and covered 

 the trap up with grass ; having caught as many as I wanted, it occurred to 

 me to try to keep one or two alive, so I put the next one that I caught in a 

 larva breeding-cage, and it soon became quite tame ; and I could let it run 

 about a table and up my arm. Its powers of jumping were very great; it 

 would jump from my hand on to a shelf quite a foot above it. I also caught 

 one or two young ones nearly full-grown ; these differed from the full-grown 

 ones by their fur being of a greyish brown, with none of the red tint. In 

 the above-mentioned pit they seemed to be the commonest of all the mice. 

 I only caught one other species there, namely, the Long-tailed Field Mouse, 

 Mus sylvaticus. — F. Head (41, Wimpole Street, W.). 



Bats in Middlesex. — I have lately received, in the flesh, a specimen 

 of the Long-eared Bat (Plecotus auritus, Linn.), from Hounslow, which was 

 discovered dead in a loft. An entomological friend of mine was " sugaring" 

 in that vicinity this summer, and, in striking at a Noctua which was 

 hovering near one of his trees, secured a small Short-eared Bat (most 

 probably Vesperugo pipistrellus), which made a dash at the moth at that 

 moment. After inspecting it carefully he turned it out of his net ; he 

 describes it as " squealing pitifully like a Mouse, whilst it was a captive." 



