Birds. 5421 



Norfolk. — On the night of the 29lh of August last, at about half-past 1 1 o'clock, a bat 

 flew into my bed-room here, which, from its very dark colour, at once attracted my 

 attention. I induced it to enter the adjoining chamber, and, having carefully closed 

 all means of exit, left it until the morning, when I found it suspended, in a dark cor- 

 ner, to a box fixed against the wall. A very slight examination was then sufficient to 

 show that it was an example of that rare British species, the barbastelle, as, indeed, I 

 .had suspected from its appearance over night. I proceeded to kill it by compression, 

 and left it, as I thought, dead; but on entering the room about half-an-hour after- 

 wards it was nowhere to be discovered. This somewhat disconcerted me ; but, again 

 closing the room, I left it until the following morning, when I found it suspended in 

 exactly the same place as before. I then carefully compared it with the description 

 given by Professor Bell, with which it agreed most accurately ; and considering that 

 my attempt on its life had caused it no injury, and that it had undoubtedly earned its 

 right to live, I liberated it without further molestation, and saw no more of it. It was 

 a male specimen, and, though so dark in its general appearance, yet had enough 

 grayish hairs on the lower part of the back to give that region quite a silvery appear- 

 ance. When taken in the hand it uttered a few faint but shrill squeaks, making, 

 however, no attempt to bite my fingers. Mr. J. H. Gurney has in his collection an 

 example of this species, which, some years since, he took from behind the bark of a 

 hollow tree at Easton, in Norfolk; and this, except the one mentioned above, is 

 the only specimen I have ever heard of as occurring in this part of England. — Alfred 

 Newton; Elveden Hall, Thetf or d, December 15, 1856. 



Birds of the Crimea. By Thomas Blakiston, Esq., 

 Lieut. Royal Artillery. 



(Continued from page 5348). 



INSESSORES. 



The Shrikes and Flycatchers. 



Were I writing a popular history of birds, I might include among 

 these the swallows, bee-eaters and nightjars, and call them the insect 

 falcons and owls, for they occupy much the same relative positions ; 

 but in the present case I have followed the latest classification, for, 

 as Gilbert White says, " Without system the field of Nature would be 

 a pathless wilderness." 



The lesser gray shrike (Lanius minor) was not uncommon about 

 the hills of the Chersonese, where brushwood existed, from the be- 

 ginning until the end of May ; and the redbacked shrike (Lanius 

 collurio) was also numerous from the end of April until the end of 

 May, after which I had no opportunity of observing them; but 



