REMARKS ON BRITISH BATS. 



169 



tragus, 0'2 X 0"15 in. ; forearm, 1'5 in.; thumb, 0'25 in.; second 

 finger, 2'7 in. ; fourth finger, 1'8 in. ; tibia, 0'65 in ; foot and claws, 

 0"3 in. Or, to compare the measurements of the two species : — 



To show how easily a mistake may be made, even by a 

 practised observer, without a verj'^ careful comparison, we may 

 remark that V. leisleri has been recorded to have occurred in 

 Norfolk, near Norwich (Paine, Ann. Nat, Hist. ii. p. 181, 1839), 

 where fourteen were said to have been taken from a hollow tree ; 

 but it was subsequently stated [torn, cit, p. 481) that the speci- 

 mens in question had been examined by the Rev. L. Jenyns, who 

 was of opinion that the species was not V. leisleri, though he 

 was uncertain whether it was the young of V. noctula or a 

 distinct species. 



Bell states (p. 18) that the Noctule is a tree-loving species, 

 and that not a single instance had come to his knowledge of its 

 retirement to buildings during the day. Doubtless hollow trees 

 usually afi'ord it shelter, but, as an exception to the rule, we may 

 remark that in West Sussex we have known these bats to resort 

 to the roofs of old thatched cottages, and have seen them go up 

 under the eaves. 



Mr. W. Harcourt Bath, referring to the abundance of this 

 species in the midland counties (' The Field,' Oct. 9th, 1886), 

 states that in the day-time they conceal themselves in holes of 

 trees, and among ivy. 



Gilbert White remarked that he never saw the Noctule on the 

 wing till the end of April, nor later than July. This is curious ; 

 for, unless the habits of the animal have changed, he might have 

 observed it in a parish which he occasionally visited (the parish 

 of Harting, on the borders of Hampshire and Sussex) during the 

 months of August and September. We have repeatedly seen 

 them on the wing there during these months, and well remember 

 shooting two of them for a friend during the first week of 

 September. A marginal note in our annotated copy of Bell's 

 work indicates that John Wolley saw the Noctule in Cambridge- 

 shire as late as the first week of November. 



