THE SEROTINE 137 



Hastings, that a colony occupying a cavity in the roof of 

 his house, vary their flight with the weather. When a breeze 

 is blowing they seek the shelter of trees, and fly backwards 

 and forwards along the short drive at the Rectory. In 

 calm weather they venture farther afield. 



As far then as these very limited observations go, the 

 Serotine usually feeds at moderate, not necessarily humble, 

 elevations. It looks fully as large as the Noctule, but may be 

 distinguished by the breadth of its wings, apart from the two 

 different styles of flight, which suggested to Dowker and to 

 Captain Reid a comparison between snipe and woodcock. 



The food evidently varies with the season and oppor- 

 tunity. At Yalding cockchafers seem to be the most highly 

 esteemed, but, when these insects are not present, substi- 

 tutes must be found, and Buckton saw the bats pursuing 

 white moths,-' as well as beetles, and successfully angled three 

 of them by means of shreds of white paper attached to an 

 ordinary fishing rod and line. At Yalding, when the cock- 

 chafer flights are over, they seek some more congenial hunting- 

 grounds, and by autumn the garden is almost deserted. 



Despite its name, the Serotine is an early flier, perhaps 

 the earliest of all British bats. Captain Reid has observed 

 it in numbers soon after eight in the evening in the third 

 week of July, the sun setting at about eight. On the 29th, 

 the sun then setting at a few minutes before eight, several 

 made their appearance at about sunset, the first at about 

 twenty minutes to the hour. Buckton believed that, like the 

 Noctule and Leisler's Bat, this species retires after about an 

 hour's exercise in the evening, and that was the impression 

 which I gained from my brief acquaintance with it ; but further 

 study is required before this point can be regarded as settled.^ 

 I watched for the Yalding bats from a quarter to two to four 

 o'clock on the morning of 29th July, the sun rising at about 

 twenty minutes past four, but without seeing a single one, 

 although a small bat was very busy on the wing for a few 

 minutes at about four. 



' Porthesia chrysorrhaa, Linnffius. 



' Miller Christy's (Broomfield, Essex) specimen entered a room at i A.M., on 

 25th August, and A. B. Button's bat, from the same county, after midnight, on 

 27th August (Henry Laver in lit.). 



