54 INSECTIVOROUS MAMMALS. 



and bric-a-brac, even in daylight when they are practically blind, thsy 

 c^n flitter about without so much as brushing a single article with their 

 outspread wings. And what a wonderful membrane it is that stretches 

 over those long bony fingers ! Then there is a lot of profitable study 

 awaiting the investigator into the problems of migration, hibernation, 

 the varying altitudes at which different species feed, and the hours ol 

 the night, during which they are abroad. 



Who amongst true nature lovers has not sat in the cool of a sum- 

 mer evening, and watched with untold delight the marvellous evolu- 

 tions, circlings, turns, dives and soarings of bats in the gathering 

 gloom ':' Who has not wondered at that high pitched squeak ? It is 

 a fact that the voices of some bats are so high that no human ear ia 

 attuned to a sufficiently high pitch to catch' the sound, just as amongst 

 some frogs the croak is so far down the scale, that when they are 

 placed in a bottle one may feel the vibrations without hearing any 

 noise. 



Then, too, how interesting to see the mother carrying her baby 

 about with her, the little helpless thing knowing only enough to cling 

 to the soft fur of her breast. 



Altogether there are some five or six species of bats described 

 from North China, though a great many more are to be found in the 

 central and southern provinces of this country. 



Over the greater part of the north only three species are at aU 

 common. These are the serotine (Eptesicus serotinus paUcna) and two 

 other small species known as Miniopterus schreibersi chincnsis and 

 Mijdtis (heuconae) pequinius. 



Of these the serotine is by far the commonest. It is the larg.:>st 

 bat found in Nortli Cliina. It may be seen everywhere during the 

 warmer months, but is most plentiful in the higher country westward 

 from the border of Chihh. It is of a brown colour, having none of the 

 peculiar membranous nose-leaves and facial decorations characteristic 

 of so many bats. The sub-species was described as new from specimens 

 taken by me while on the Clark Expedition in Kansu. It differs from 

 the Euro))ean form in being of a distinctly lighter colour, with a longer 

 foreann and a shorter, broader skull. It hides during the day in loess 

 cliffs, coming out in the evenings to feed, flying at comparatively great 

 altitudes. 



Miniopterus schrcibtrsi cJiinrnsis was first described from speci- 

 mens taken in some caves in the mountains west of Peking, where it 



