WHISKERED BAT IN CAPTIVITY. 53 



puzzle it, and only once did I see it capture one itself, although 

 the creatures frequently crawled just before its eyes and over its 

 wings and feet. The wings and legs of moths were always 

 dropped, but once or twice a wing accidentally encountered in 

 the Bat's ramble about the table was picked up and eaten. The 

 mealworms were, as a rule, entirely consumed, but sometimes 

 the horny heads were left. 



After being fed or handled, the Bat always went through a 

 rather elaborate toilet. It used to hang by one foot and comb 

 the fur of its face and body with the other, often sucking its toes 

 first, and always moving the free foot with great rapidity. It 

 would then change the foot used for suspension, and repeat the 

 operation. It paid much attention to the wings and interfemoral 

 membrane, licking them inside and out, and distending the mem- 

 branes by thrusting its nose among the folds. When washing 

 itself, as well as when securing prey in the manner described 

 above, it displayed remarkable suppleness. 



Despite its cleanliness it was the host, as every Bat seems to 

 be, of some external parasites. I removed a large tick from the 

 upper surface of the interfemoral membrane near the root of its 

 tail, and caught two fleas (which Mr. Edward Saunders has 

 identified as Typhlopsylla hexactenus) in its fur. 



