BRITISH MAMMALS 



difficulty of distinguishing this small species when on the wing from 

 the Pipistrelle or Common Bat. 



More recently the alertness of various naturalists has shown that it is 

 plentiful in some localities. 



In England it is numerous in various parts of the southern, western 

 and midland counties, and also in Yorkshire, though rare or absent in 

 East Anglia, Durham and Northumberland. In Wales it is not uncommon. 



There are only two records of its capture in Scotland, namely, one 

 near Rannoch, Perthshire, in June 1874, and another at Dunbar, East 

 Lothian, 20th March, 1893. It is widely distributed in Ireland. 



The habits of the Whiskered Bat seem to have been less closely 

 watched than those of most of the other species inhabiting our islands. 

 It has been supposed to be less sociable in its manners than others, 

 though R. F. Tomes {^Vict. Hist., ^Worcester'') mentions a colony of 

 more than a hundred in the roof of his house at Littleton. It often 

 frequents the neighbourhood of rivers, where it has been observed seeking 

 its prey among the branches of trees or flitting over the surface of the 

 water, while it is said to have been more often noticed hawking during 

 daylight than other species. 



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