COMMON BAT, PIPISTRELLE OR FLITTER-MOUSE 125 



in general when feeding. A Pipistrelle which had become 

 accustomed to picking up mealworms from the floor of its 

 cage, was puzzled by finding a piece of white wool of 

 similar length, but seemed indifferent to bits of black or red 

 wool. It ate two blackened mealworms, but with hesitation, 

 after smelling them carefully, as it did also the white worm- 

 like pieces of wool. On the other hand, it almost sprang 

 upon ordinary mealworms and devoured them, without 

 attempting to smell them. But the peripheral nerves 

 generally must be extremely sensitive, since a temporarily 

 blinded Pipistrelle, liberated with a piece of paper firmly 

 gummed across the front of the tragus, not only flew round 

 a room briskly and without hesitation, but avoided contact 

 with obstacles, and smartly dodged strokes of a net. 



Captive Pipistrelles frequently make use of the inter- 

 femoral membrane in the pouch-like manner (Plate VIII., p. 104) 

 which, although undoubtedly observed by older writers, and 

 mentioned by Dobson,^ appears to have been for the first time 

 thoroughly appreciated and intelligently interpreted by Mr 

 Oldham. The history of this habit is worth recounting at 

 some length. It came under the notice of White,^ who wrote 

 to Pennant that he was much entertained at the manner 

 in which a tame bat, when fed, " brought its wings round 

 before the mouth, hovering and hiding its , head in the 

 manner of birds of prey when they feed." Bingley is 

 more detailed in his description, since he relates how a 

 bat, "raising itself somewhat higher than usual on its fore- 

 legs, bent its head with great dexterity under its belly, 

 and forced the insect into its mouth, by thrusting it, 

 from side to side, against that part of the membrane 

 which extended betwixt the two hind legs." Again, in 

 1834, Daniell wrote of a bat falling over its prey, "with 

 all its membranes expanded, and cowering over the pros- 

 trate fly, with its head thrust under, in order to secure " 

 it. Later, Joseph Clark ^ thus graphically described the 

 attack of a captive bat upon a fly : " If it missed its aim, 

 its next tactic was to use its long arm, to get it under its 



' Catalogue of Chiropiera, xxviii. ^ Letter xi., dated 9th Sept. 1767. 



3 Zoologist, 1847, 1 766- 1 767. 



