82 



THE WING-HANDED ANIMALS. 



with agility and quickness. They eat insects, only, 

 and for the most part such as are very harmful to 

 Man. They make a loud, whistling, chirping sound. 



The The Long-eared Bat {Plecotus auritus) 



Long-Eared cannot be mistaken for any other, be- 



Bat. cause of its long, large ears. It is 

 one of the largest European Bats, measuring about 

 four inches in length, its tail occupying about one 

 and one-half inches, and the expanse of its wings 

 being ten inches. The ears are more than two 

 inches long, traversed by many furrows, and they 

 curve backwards. The inner margin of each is 

 furnished with a tongue-like flap, and the entire 

 ear is very mobile. The fur is brownish-gray, and 

 the face is bordered with white hair. Young animals 

 are darker than old ones. 



The Long-eared Bat is distributed all over Eu- 

 rope, south from the sixtieth degree of latitude ; 



EGYPTIAN BHINOFOME. What queer-looking creatures are Iiere depicted, with their Hog- 

 like noses, great ears ajid long, Rat-like tails. They are African Bats and are found along the waters of 

 the Nile, being fond of low places, and diligent hunters for food. {Rhinopoma microphyllum.) 



The Mouse- The Mouse-colored or Common Bat 

 Colored or Com- (Vespertilio murinus) inhabits all of 

 mor\ Bat. central Europe, beginning with Eng- 

 land Denmark and middle Russia, southern Europe, 

 northern Africa and the greatest part of Asia, up to 

 the Himalaya Mountains. This is one of the largest 

 of European Bats. It measures nearly five inches, 

 two being occupied by the tail, and the expanse of 

 its wings is fifteen inches. Its upper part is light 

 gray-brown, the lower a dingy white; young animals 



being lighter gray. ^- u ■ r ^ ■ 



The genus Vespertilio, which is found in 

 The Brown Bat ^^^^ hemispheres, has more species thaa 

 and its Beta- ^^^ other, there being forty-three of these 

 *'''®®' species known to naturalists. Its distin- 



ffuishinff marks, besides its dentition, are the oval shape of the 

 lar of which the tragus is narrow and attenuated. The ear is 

 also greatly elongated, being as long as the head or longer;, 

 and the muzzle, which is narrow, is hairy in front. There are 

 four species of this genus found in the United States, one being 

 the Common Brown Bat ( Vespertilio sub- 

 ulatus), of the region east of the Rocky 

 Mountains. The other species, which, 

 seem to have no distinguishing English 

 names, are"^ the Vespertilio lucifugus, 

 which is found in nearly all wooded re- 

 gions of this country, including the Pa- 

 cific Coast states; the Vespertilio nitidus, 

 which is found in California and Texas, 

 and the Vespertilio evotis, having a more 

 northern range on the Pacific Coast and 

 being found in Oregon and Washington, 

 as well as in California. These species 

 live for the greater part in woods, but 

 some of them, especially of the Brown 

 Bat species, make their homes in caves 

 or in the roofs of houses and bams. 

 The Noctule The Noctule (Fa- 

 or Great perugo no c tula) is 

 ^«*- an early flying Bat 



and is popularly known in Eng- 

 land as the " Great Bat." It is a 

 common animal in Europe and is 

 about four and one - half inches 

 long, with an expanse of wing of 

 fifteen inches. Its color is a red- 

 dish-brown, the ears and wings 

 being brownish-black. The wings 

 are long and narrow and its flight 

 is very rapid, resembling that of 

 a Swallow. 



The Noctule is the strongest of 

 the European Bats. It comes out 

 earliest and flies highest. Not in- 



and it has also been found in northern Africa, 

 western Asia and the East Indies. It is very 

 common, but lives singly, not in troops. It always 

 keeps in the neighborhood of human dwellings, 

 sleeping in summer as often in hollow trees as 

 behind window-shutters, and in winter it visits cel- 

 lars and basements as frequently as mines and quar- 

 ries. In the city it likes squares grown with trees 

 and shrubs, and, therefore, makes its appearance 

 nearly always in rooms overlooking gardens. 



Long-eared Bats bear captivity better than most 

 of their relatives, and may live for months or even 

 years, with very careful treatment. For this reason 

 they are usually selected for the purpose of a study 

 of the family in general. They may become more or 

 . . Of the same genus is the American Large- 



American eared Bat {Plecotits iiiacrotus) which bears 



i-arge-tarea ^ strong resemblance to the European spe- 

 cies in many particulars. It has, however, 

 a distinguishing feature in the large size attained by the gland- 

 ular prominences at the side of the muzzle, which meet in the 

 center above and behind the nostrils. This Bat makes its home 

 in the southern and western parts of the United Slates, and on 

 the Pacific coast its range extends north to Vancouver. 



frequently it is seen a few hours before sunset, dex- 

 terously eluding the pursuits of birds of prey. By 

 its sudden turnings it escapes nearly all attacks, and 

 not even the quick Falcon, which captures Swallows 

 on the wing, can harm it. 



Sarotine Bats ?"^iStr> y^lP7"^K 'l ^''° represented 

 Found in Both United States by four species. One 



Hemisoheres °^ these, the Serotine ( Vesperiigo serotinus} 

 ^ ' is remarkable as being the only species of 



Bat found in both the Old and the New World, although the 

 American is smaller than the European animal. It is an ar- 

 boreal animal and is found in most of the wooded regions east 

 of the Mississippi. Other species, differing from the Serotine 

 principally in dentition are Vesperu^o hespertis, Vesperuga^ 

 georgianus and Vesperugo noctivagans. The general charac- 

 teristics of this genus are comparatively thick bodies, flat 

 broad heads and blunt muzzles, short legs, and ears which are 

 short, broad, triangular in shape and obtusely pointed 



The Barbastelle A strange looking creature is the 



orPug-Dog Barbastelle {Synotus barbastellus), 



^"*- called in Germany the Pug- Dog Bat. 



The ears, united over the crown of the head, give to 



the face a remarkable expression. The wings are 



long and slender; the spur-bone at the heel shows 



