58 



VERTEBRATES : .MAMMALS. 



a sharp hook. In the daytime they stay m caves, hollow 

 trees, or other dark places, hanging by their hooks, or 

 by the sharp claws of their hind feet. Bats can fly 

 through the most winding and crooked passages with- 

 out harm, even after their eyes have been destroyed. 

 Some of the larger Bats of the East Indies eat fruits 

 and birds, but most kinds feed upon insects, which 

 they are catching when we see them flitting in the dusk 

 of evening. The Red, and the Hoary Bat, three or 

 four inches lon</, are common in North America. 



Insect-eaters, or Insectivora. 



Tlie Insect-caters include the Shrews, Moles, and 

 Hedgehogs. Many naturalists also place here the Gale- 



Fig 76- — 

 Galeopithecus. 



Fig- 77- — Teeth of an Insect- 

 eater. 



opithecus, a curious batlike aniinal found on trees in 

 the Indian Archipelago. The Insectivora sleep during 

 the day, and go forth at night in search of food. In 

 cool regions, man_v of them sleep all winter. 



Shrews. 



Shrews are little mouselike animals, — some of them 

 smaller than the smallest Mice, — with a long and taper- 



