TYPICAL BATS. 39 



apparently undetermined course. Its flight is not rapid, like 

 that of a bird, but rather resembles that of a large Moth or 

 Butterfly. It turns and winds in all directions, flying at 

 various heights from ten to twenty or more feet, and some- 

 times as high as the tops of the trees, but more commonly ^t 

 an elevation of about fifteen feet. It is attracted by a white 

 handkerchief, or any other body, thrown up in the air, for 

 which reason boys are fond of tossing their caps at it. Some- 

 times it has been caught upon the fly-hooks of a fishing-rod 

 hung over a bridge. It continues its flight until dark, and 

 probably during the night, as well as in the morning twilight ; 

 and reposes through the day in the corners and crevices of old 

 buildings, towers, and steeples. As its food consists entirely 

 of insects, and especially the nocturnal Lepidoptera, it is forced 

 by the increasing cold of winter to relinquish its pursuits, and 

 betake itself to some secure retreat in a ruined building or 

 cavern, where it remains until the returning heat arouses it 

 from its torpor. In this state it is found suspended by its feet 

 in chimneys, crevices, or corners, or jammed into a hole or 

 fissure. A frequent place of retirement is under the roofs of 

 houses, and especially churches ; but it presents great variety 

 in its selection, and I have obtained specimens from the hollow 

 of a decayed tree near Duddingston." 



" The Pipistrelle rises with facility from a flat surface, and is 

 capable of advancing on the ground with considerable celerity, 

 and ascends a vertical plane, provided it be somewhat rough, 

 without much difficulty. In confinement it feeds on flies and 

 raw meat." 



From its hardy nature, as indicated by its northern range in 

 Britain, the Pipistrelle is by no means continuous in its winter 

 slumber, any unusually warm day being sufficient to awaken 

 the little creature. During the mild winter of 1893-94, I 

 observed on the evening of January the 20th one of these 



