422 Whitaker : Notes on Bats. 



It is not improbable that distinct racial differences may 

 exist in bats from different localities. On September 8th, 

 1909, I took ten adult Long-eared bats (P. aiiritus) from an old 

 disused tramway tunnel near Barnsley. Two were males, 

 and the remaining eight were females. The average wing 

 expanse of these ten specimens was 9I inches, the smallest 

 being 8.90 in., and the largest 10.15 in. All these bats were 

 of a distinctly warm, almost a reddish, brown above, and of a 

 prett}^ pale creamy colour on the under parts. Both in colour 

 and size, I should say these specimens were typical of all I 

 have ever had from this neighbourhood. 



On the following day I received seven Long-eared bats, 

 taken the previous day at Christchurch, in Hants. These 

 were also adult specimens, five being females, and two males. 

 The average wing expanse of these seven bats was io"i5 inches, 

 three-quarters of an inch more than the average of the Barnsley 

 specimens, which had been captured on the same day. The 

 smallest individual was exactly 10 inches in wing expanse 

 [i.e., above the average of the Yorkshire specimens), whilst 

 the largest measured 11 -lo inches from one wing tip to the 

 other. This specimen, a female, is quite the largest individual 

 of its kind I have ever seen. 



Not only were the Christchurch bats noticeably larger than 

 the Yorkshire specimens, but the moment I saw them I was 

 also struck by the difference in their colour. They were all 

 very much paler and greyer than any specimens 1 had pre- 

 viously handled, having nothing like the same warmth of 

 colouring, and with the pale creamy brown of the underparts, 

 characteristic of Barnsley specimens, replaced by a cold whitish 

 grey. 



In the ' Naturalist ' for 1906 (pp. 148-9), I published some 

 account of the wonderful power a bhndfolded Natterer's Bat 

 (L, nattcreri) exhibited in flying about among strange sur- 

 roundings without coming into contact with anything. I find 

 that this power is not possessed by the Long-eared bat, for 

 even with the full use of all its senses, a captive specimen will 

 occasionally collide with fine wires or strings if they are held 

 in the path of its flight. The more I see of this species, the 

 more I am drawn to the conclusion that it uses the senses of 

 sight and hearing, and especially the former, more than any 

 of our other British bats. 



Any wild caught bat of this species will readily hunt for 



Naturalist 



