BRITISH MAMMALS 



Though found locally in some numbers, it can scarcely be called a 

 common species, though it has a much wider distribution than its cousin. 



Among other haunts, according to Millais, it frequents Kensington 

 Gardens in London, and owing to the difficulty in identifying the different 

 species, when hawking after their prey in the dusk of evening, this Bat may 

 possibly be less rare than one might be led to suppose. 



This frail little creature, which is said to be more delicate than any other 

 European Bat, seldom venturing out unless in calm weather, is difficult to 

 keep in confinement for more than a few days. 



To Mr. T. A. Coward and Mr. C. Oldham we owe most of our know- 

 ledge of its ways and habits in this country. 



In The Mammals of Great Britain and Ireland^ p. 36-37, Mr. Millais 

 quotes the following account supplied to him by Mr. Coward, " In every 

 case the Bats were hanging : some were suspended from a smooth roof, 

 chnging to minute inequalities, others were at the top of holes in the caves ; 

 in such positions the face of the Bat was always turned towards the nearest 

 wall. Both sexes hung in company ; the largest gathering consisted of ten 

 Bats. In one water-worn hole a male and female were together, an inch 

 or two apart. When first found the Bats all hung with perfectly straight 

 legs; their ears were partly folded back, and their faces hidden. They 

 noticed the light at once, and began to sway slowly from side to side ; then 

 they bent their long legs and drew themselves up, swinging with more vigour. 

 The tail in every case was recurved over the back. . . . 



" When alighting after a short flight the agility of the Bat was most 

 noticeable. Most Bats when they alight seize the object on which they are 

 settling with the thumbs, and then rapidly turn round and take hold with 

 the feet. The Horse-shoes, when an inch or so from the object, turn in 

 the air, taking hold at once with the feet." 



Like the Greater Horse-shoe Bat, it usually chooses as a retreat dark 



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