84 WAITE: VERTEBRATES OF THE WESTERN AINSTY. 
Vespertilio nattereri Kuhl. Reddish-grey Bat. Natterer’s 
Bat. aye met with only one example of this species in the 
district. I found it lying dead on the road near te Thorp Arch on 
the 11th July, 1890 (recorded in ‘ The Naturalist,’ 1890, page 255). 
It seems improbable that this should be the only specimen of 
the district, but all the small bats which I have hitherto shot 
have been the common species (V. pipistre/lus). 
Erinaceus europzus linn. Hedgehog. Very common and 
generally distributed pone the district, and is usually found 
in phe ae thicket 
Talpa europe ick Very common in all parts of the 
district, sorte pen confined to cultivated Jand and pastures. 
The systematic trapping which is carried on does not appear to 
lessen its numbers; if, however, the trapping on an estate is 
suspended for a single season, the enormous increase in numbers 
becomes very apparent the following year. 
Sorex tetragonurus Herman. Common Shrew. Very 
common, and generally distributed throughout the district ; 
both this and the following species have been frequently caught 
but are not eaten by the cat. 
Sorex minutus Linn. Lesser Shrew. Common in several 
parts of the district, but rare in others; nowhere so plentiful as 
S.tetragonurus. It appears to spend less time outside its burrow. 
Crossopus fodiens (Pallas). Water Shrew. Black Shrew. 
The Water Shrew is certainly scarce in the district ; it occurs 
at Wilstrop, and I have also seen it on the Foss (a small 
tributary of the Wharfe) near to Wighil! Park. Mr. John Emmet 
records it from Boggard House, Walton, and the Rev. J. W- 
Chaloner, of Newton Kyme, tells me that his cat took him a small 
animal, which he did not know. From the description which he 
has given me I have no hesitation in saying it was a Water Shrew. 
Canis vulpes Linn. Fox. Common throughout the district. It is 
bred at Walton, Thorp Arch, and other places, and rigorously 
preserved for the purposes of the Bramham Moor Hunt. During 
the season some part or other of the district is regularly hunted. 
In 1862 Mr. George Lane Fox, writing to the * Field,’ stated 
that foxes were more abundant within the limits of his hunt 
(except about Selby) than in any other part of Yorkshire. 
Mustela vulgaris Erxl. Common Weasel. Very common 
and generally distributed throughout the district, although largely 
trapped as vermin by the keepers. It is generally seen about 
walls and stone-heaps. This species is subject to much variation 
Naturalist, 
