LEAF-NOSED OR BLOOD-SUCKING BATS— HORSESHOE. 



-S,) 



ture is, although a Leaf-nosed Bat, by no means a 

 blood-sucker. It zealously hunts nocturnal insects 

 and does not disdain fruit. Waterton says : " In the 

 broad moonlight I could see the Vampire fly to the 

 trees and eat the ripe fruit. On its return from the 

 forest it frequently brought a round fruit the size of 

 a nutmeg into our yard, and when the Sawarri-nut 

 tree bloomed it searched for nuts growing there. 

 On moonlight nights I often saw Vampires flying 

 around the tops of these trees, and from time to 

 time a bud would fall into the water. This did not 

 happen without cause, for all the buds that I exam- 

 ined were fresh and sound. So I concluded that 

 they had been plucked by the Vampires, either for 

 the young fruit or for insects that were concealed in 

 them." 



THE HORSESHOE BATS. 



The representatives of this group in Europe are 

 called Horseshoe Bats. The appendage of the nose 

 covers the whole face from 

 the forehead to the tip of 

 the nose, and is the" most 

 remarkable feature in 

 these animals. The wings 

 are broad and relatively 

 short, and the flight in 

 consequence is far from 

 perfect. The fur of nearly 

 all the Horseshoe Bats is 

 light. 



The Lesser There are, four 



Horseshqe known Euro- 

 Bats. pean species 

 in this group, the most 

 common of them being 

 the Lesser Horseshoe Bat 

 {Rhinolophus hippocrepis). 

 It is one of the smallest 

 of the Bats, for its entire 

 length is only from two to 

 four inches, with an ex- 

 panse of wing of nine 

 inches. The fur is gray- 

 ish-white above and a lit- 

 tle lighter below. This 

 little Bat extends farther 

 north than any of its kin- 

 dred, inhabiting nearly all 

 of middle Europe, and is 

 also frequently seen in the 

 southern portions of that 

 continent. It is found in 

 the mountains, in localities 

 above the forest belt, and 

 is the most gregarious of all Horseshoe Bats. 



Though it is less sensitive to changes of tempera- 

 ture and climate than are the generality of Bats, still 

 the Lesser Horseshoe Bat does not fly about m 

 rough or wet weather unless compelled to do so. It 

 always selects sheltered places for its habitation and 

 sometimes, for this purpose, descends caverns and 

 pits to a consideiiable depth. Its hibernation is of a 

 rather long duration, but seems to differ in length 

 according to circumstances. These Bats are among 

 the first to retreat to their winter quarters, as well 

 as among the last to leave their hiding-places. Some 

 go to sleep later and rouse themselves earlier in the 

 season than others, but this difference in the begin- 

 ning and end of their hibernation does not seem to 

 be due to the influence of age, but rather on account 



of sex, as Koch found that the males generally as- 

 sumed a torpid state early in autumn, and that 

 females continued their sleep until late in the spring. 

 In the same way some will temporarily awaken at 

 times during their hibernation while others do not. 



During the summer the Lesser Horseshoe Bats 

 delight in subterranean vaults, old and little fre- 

 quented cellars, rocky caverns, old mines, and unin- 

 habited houses. They are as gregarious then as in 

 winter, but never assemble in such large groups as 

 other Bats do; and they hang, not in clusters, but 

 side by side, and far enough apart so that no one of 

 the group touches another. When at rest this Bat 

 always suspends itself by its hind legs and envel- 

 opes itself either partially or entirely in its flying 

 membrane. During hibernation it wraps itself up 

 so closely as to resemble a mushroom more than a 

 Bat. In summer it is easily awakened so that one 

 cannot well catch it without a net even in broad day- 

 light, as the approach of Ma^ causes it to quickly 



GBEATEB HORSESHOE BAT. The grotesque and unsightly nose, sharp teeth and huge ears ol this. 



Bat are strikingly presented in this picture as the creature hangs in its peculiar sleeping posture from a tree- 

 branch. PartiaUy aroused it would seem to scent danger and be preparing for escape by flight. (Khinolophus fer- 



arouse and fly away. When not asleep, it moves its 

 head to and fro with extreme rapidity, licks and 

 cleans itself and searches for the innumerable 

 parasites which infest its fur. In short, it belongs 

 to the liveliest, prettiest and most attractive of Eu- 

 ropean Bats, although it is clumsy and slow in 

 flight, and, as a rule, does not rise high above the 

 ground. Unfortunately it does not bear captivity. 

 Like most members of its family, this Bat is easily 

 excited, and when disturbed, or even when only 

 touched, is liable to a violent hemorrhage of the 

 hose, which often causes death. 



The principal food of the Horseshoe Bats consists 

 of insects that have no hard parts to their bodies, 

 such as Flies, small Night-Butterflies, etc. They are 

 likewise genuine blood-suckers, as Kolenati's observa- 



