184 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD 



very short, is quite as conspicuous as the tail in most animals. The creature seems 

 to have the ordinary habits of an insectivorous Bat; it is found from Egypt to 

 Burma, and especially haunts tombs and ruins. 



THE PIPISTRELLE 



( Vesperugo pipistrellus) 



Our common British Bats belong to a family (Vespertilionidcs) which is the most 

 widely spread of all, and has no very striking peculiarities. The commonest in 

 England is the above species, usually known as the " Flittermouse," and familiar to 

 every one, as it is found even in towns, and flies low, and not unfrequently is abroad 

 by day ; while, though it hibernates, like all insectivorous Bats in Temperate 

 countries, it retires late and comes out early, even appearing on fine days in winter. 

 It is a small brown Bat, with no noticeable peculiarity about muzzle or ears. Its 

 food is Gnats and such small insects, and it usually roosts by day in buildings. It 

 is found all over Europe, North Africa, "and east to Cashmere, but it is not the 

 "Common Bat" of the Continent, that being Vespertilio murinus, a species rather 

 bigger even than our Noctule Bat. 



THE NOCTULE 



( Vesperugo noctula) 



The Noctule is the biggest Bat one is likely to see in England, and is nearly twice 

 as big as the little Pipistrelle ; it is also much brighter in colour, being of a light 

 chestnut, but it has a rank unpleasant smell. This big Bat usually retires for the 

 day into hollow trees, though sometimes found under eaves ; it usually flies high, 

 and feeds by preference on large insects like Cockchafers and other beetles. It is 

 found over a large part of the Old World, Europe, North Africa, and Asia, and 

 even Java and Sumatra, though not India proper. 



THE LONG-EARED BAT 



(Plecotus auritus) 



There are a good many British Bats, but it is only possible here to allude to the 

 three most conspicuous species, of which the present is certainly one, for, although 

 a little creature like the Pipistrelle, it rejoices in the largest ears, for its size, of any 

 known animal, except its near ally the American Long-Eared Bat (/*. macrotis). 

 These ears, which are three-quarters the length of the body, can be both bent and 

 folded, and are usually stowed away under the wings when the Bat hangs itself 

 up to Vest. The Long-Eared Bat is a widely-spread species in England — I have 

 known one captured even in London — and also has a wide range abroad, from 

 Europe and North Africa to the Himalayas. 



