THE LONG-EARED BAT 203 



plunging descent taken on these occasions is very remarkable, 

 and renders it a difficult matter to keep the animal longer 

 in sight. . . . 



"This bat is decidedly later than the Hairy-armed^ in 

 appearing on the wing. In August, 1900, the time of its 

 first appearance about a favourite Ash- tree was noted on nine 

 consecutive evenings, with the following result : — 



August 4th. Long-eared Bat first seen 26 minutes after sunset. 



» Sth „. „ 36 „ „ 



» 6th „ „ 36 „ „ 



» 7tn „ „ 33 )) J) 



» 8th „ „ 34 „ „ 



„ 9* » >i 32 „ „ 



„ loth „ „ 33 „ „ 



» nth „ „ 37 „ „ 



)■ 1 2th „ „ 34 „ „ 



Thus, in eight evenings out of nine the first appearance was 

 between thirty-two and thirty-seven minutes after sunset." 



That the flight of the Long-eared Bat extends throughout 

 the night, was suggested by Tomes, who, as stated above, not 

 only observed it feeding at three o'clock in the morning, but 

 heard the shrill chatter of its easily recognised voice over his 

 head at all hours of the night, even the darkest, in the 

 open fields and elsewhere. Confirming this statement, Mr 

 Inchbald^ writes that he has watched this species catching 

 moths between 2 and 3 a.m. in July, and Messrs Alcock and 

 Moffat state that it has been identified on the wing in County 

 Wexford in the third week of August, at midnight, at 1.30 a.m., 

 and in the morning twilight.* At each of the earlier hours the 

 identification was effected by watching a bat flying in and out 

 of a conservatory, where it was possible to identify it with 

 certainty. The same writers suggest that this bat seeks its 

 diurnal hiding-places while the morning light is still dim, never 

 having observed it in view later than forty-five minutes before 

 sunrise. 



The hibernation of the Long-eared Bat appears to be both 

 more profound and of longer duration than that of some other 



^ /.I?., Leisler's Bat. 2 jr^gi^^ 23rd July 1887, 149. 



' Gordon Dalgliesh met with one on the wing at midnight on ist December 

 [Zoologist, 1908, 178). 



