WILD CREATURES OF GARDEN AND HEDGEROW 



the two horse-shoe bats, known as the greater 

 and the lesser. They both have ' nose-leafs,' 

 which make them look as if they carried tiny 

 horse-shoes in front of their faces. It is to 

 this quaint decoration that they owe their 

 name. They are chiefly found in the south of 

 England and are not very common. The 

 whiskered bat is a small grey-coloured bat, 

 about the same size as the pipistrelle. It is 

 fairly common, and may be seen flying with it 

 in almost any garden. But any evening that 

 you go out just when the light is fading you 

 may be certain of seeing the pipistrelle and the 

 long-eared bat hawking round the house and 

 up and down the garden, for there are few 

 buildings where these two common bats cannot 

 manage to find a snug hiding-place. Of the 

 other six bats there is not much to say, for they 

 are uncommon and not likely to be met with, 

 but this is not such a great loss, for they are 

 not a bit more interesting than those which we 

 can see and watch any warm quiet evening. 



(The twelve species of British bats are as follows : 

 Bhinolophus ferrum-equinum, and R. hipposideros, 

 the Greater and Lesser Horse-shoe Bats; Myoiis 

 daubentonii, M. mystacinus, M. nattereri, M. bechsteinii 

 are respectively Daubenton's Bat, usually found near 

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