334 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE BERMUDAS. 



and a half inches in extent. Mouth large and well furnished 

 with teeth, the canines above and below very conspicuous. 

 Ears broad, short and rounded. Tail entirely included in 

 the membrane. A small white patch at the elbow, and 

 another at the wrist (viz., on the upper surface). Body 

 covered with thick, soft yellow or buff-coloured fur, each 

 hair tipped externally with white, giving it a beautiful 

 white-grey or hoary appearance, hence its name, the Hoary 

 Bat {pespertilio pruinosus.) Muzzle, blackish-brown, sur- 

 rounded by a broad band of fawn colour. Under parts 

 greyish-buff or clay colour. 



When annoyed by anything, it opened its mouth, wrinkled 

 up its lips, exhibited its teeth, and uttered a sharp, short 

 squeak. 



As Bats, as a rule, are met with in the Bermudas only at 

 this particular season, their migration from the northern 

 parts of America, to seek their food in more southern lati- 

 tudes, appears to me beyond all doubt. Like the Night 

 Hawk, and some other of the insectivorous feathered tribe, 

 which visit us at the same season of the year, the " Hoary 

 Bat " leaves us after a brief stay, though moths and other 

 insects abound here at that time. 



Wonderful must be the power of flight possessed by this 

 little animal to enable it to traverse six or seven hundred 

 miles of ocean at one effort (to say nothing of those which 

 may be supposed to pass on, without coming into contact 

 with this small and isolated dot in the wide ocean, and 

 which eventually may be presumed to reach the southern 

 limit of their flight in safety), thus emulating even the 

 splendid aerial performances of the Ckaradrius marmoratus, 

 and other migrating birds. 



December 2nd. — Have heard of two Bats having recently 

 been seen at St. George's, and one or two elsewhere. 



