36 : THE VAMPIRE BAT. 
to the upper limbs. The legs are short and slender, and so arranged that 
the feet are rather turned outward, for the purpose of using their sharp claws 
freely. A kind of slender and spur-like bone is seen to proceed from the 
heel of each foot. 
The VAMPIRE BAT is a native of Southern America, and is spread over a 
large extent of country. It is not a very large animal, the length of its dy 
and tail being only six inches, or perhaps seven in large specimens, and the 
spread of the wing two feet, or rather more. The colour of the Vampire’s 
fur is a mouse tint, with a shade of brown. 
Many tales have been told of the Vampire Bat, and its fearfula Ks upon 
sleeping men—tales which, although founded on fact, were so sadly exag- 
gerated as to cause a reaction in the opposite direction. It was reported to 
come silently by night, and to search for the exposed toes of a sound sleeper— 
its instinct telling it whether the intended victim were thoroughly buried in 
sleep. Poising itself above the feet of its prey, and fanning them with its 
extended wings, it produced a cool atmosphere, which, in those hot climates, 
aided in soothing the slum- 
ber into a still deeper 
repose. The Bat then 
applied its needle-pointed 
teeth to the upturned foot, 
and inserted them into 
the tip of a toe with such 
adroit dexterity that no 
pain was caused by the 
tiny wound. The lips 
were them brought into 
action, and the blood was 
sucked until the Bat was 
satiated. It then dis- 
gorged the food which it 
had just taken, and began 
afresh, continuing its al- 
ternated feeding and dis- 
gorging, until the victim 
THE VAMPIRE BAT.—(Vampyrus spectrum.) perished from sheer loss 
of blood. 
For a time this statement gained dominion, but after a while was less and 
less believed, until at last naturalists repudiated the whole story as a “ travel- 
ler’s tale.” However, as usual, the truth seems to have lain between the two 
extremes ; for it is satisfactorily ascertained, by more recent travellers, that 
the Vampires really do bite both men and cattle during the night, but that 
the wound is never known to be fatal, and in most instances causes but little 
inconvenience to the sufferer. 
When they direct their attacks against mankind, the Vampires almost 
invariably select the foot as their point of operation, and their blood-loving 
propensities are the dread of both natives and Europeans. With singular 
audacity, the Bats even creep into human habitations, and seek out the 
exposed feet of any sleeping inhabitant who has incautiously neglected to 
draw a coverlet over his limbs. 
ONE of the most common, and at the same time the most elegant, of the 
British Cheiroptera, is the well-known LONG-EARED Bart. 
This pretty little creature may be found in all parts of England; and on 
account of its singularly beautiful ears and gentle temper has frequently been 
tamed and domesticated. I have possessed several specimens of this Lat, 
