66 THK ZOOLOGIST. 



men Bat of our islands, and abounds in Northamptonshire as in 

 most parts of England with which I am acquainted. I have met 

 with it in Spain, and I think in Italy, but to anyone but an 

 expert it is difficult to discriminate this from the following species. 



Vespertilio Kiihlii, Temm. — Of this species I can only say that, 

 if my identification is correct, I have found it not very abundantly 

 in Spain, commonly in S. Italy, Sicily, and Corfu. I am in- 

 formed that V. rispistrellus, Penn., V. alcythbc, and V. alho- 

 limbatus, Bonaparte, are only synonyms for this species. 



VespertUo mi/stacinus, Desm. — The only living specimens of 

 this Bat that I have ever seen were three or four brought to me 

 from the belfry of Tichmarsh Church, Norths., in 1870, and one 

 that 1 2)icked out of the Avon below the bridge at Christchurch, 

 Hants, in 1873 ; the latter little animal was making a fairly 

 strong swim of it against a moderate stream. This so-called 

 Whiskered Bat is the darkest in colour of the British species 

 with which I have any acquaintance. 



Plecotus auritiis, Geoflfroy. — The Long-eared Bat is exceed- 

 ingly common in Northamptonshire, as in most parts of England, 

 and may often be seen flying in broad daylight and sunshine, 

 sometimes even in the depth of winter ; it seems especially to 

 affect the roofs of summer-houses, porches, and cattle-sheds ; its 

 presence in such localities is often betrayed by the wings of 

 moths on the floor below its lurking-places. This is the only 

 species of British Bat that I could ever succeed in keeping alive 

 for any length of time ; the two or three with which I made the 

 attempt fed greedily upon live house-flies and other small winged 

 insects, taking them eagerly from our hands ; but they refuse 

 mealworms, beetles, and every sort of raw meat. During the 

 hybernation of these animals I frequently examined them very 

 minutely, and could not detect any pulsation whatever, or the 

 slightest stain on a small mirror applied close to the nostrils ; 

 but they would slowly recover animation when exposed to a heat 

 of about 75° Fahr., and eat ravenously as long as I had any flies 

 to ofier them ; one of these Bats lived for more than two months 

 in a state of complete torpor in a temperature varying from about 

 40° to 60°, and eventually flew off on a warm morning in February, 

 and commenced hawking for gnats on the sheltered side of the 

 house as briskly as if it had been mid-summer. 



Barhastellus comiimnis, Bouap. -I found this curious-looking 



