Quadrupeds. 67 



pitching on the hand, take the fly without hesitation. If the insect were hehl between 

 the lips, the hat would then settle on its young patron's cheek, and take the fly with 

 great gentleness from the mouth : and so far was this familiarity carried, that when 

 either of my young friends made a humming noise with the mouth in imitation of an 

 insect, the bat would search about the lips for the promised dainty. 



" The progression of this species on the ground diff'ers considerablyfrom that of all 

 the species of true Vespertilio that I have seen. Instead of running quickly along the 

 ground in a horizontal posture with the head low, the fore parts are somewhat raised 

 and the body thrown forward by successive jerkings, given alternately on one side and 

 the other. 



" The large and beautiful ears are usually folded under the arm during sleep, es- 

 pecially if the sleep be profound : and this is also the case during hybernation ; the 

 long tragus then hangs down, and gives the animal the appearance of having short 

 and slender ears. Indeed, a person who had not seen it in the act of folding its ears, 

 could never imagine it to be the same species when they are fully expanded. This 

 circumstance refutes the notion suggested by Edwards and adopted by Pennant, that 

 the ' lesser ear may possibly serve as a valve to close the larger in the sleeping state of 

 this animal.' 



" The cry of this species is acute and shrill, but not loud. It affords a rather re- 

 markable illustration of the well-known fact, that some persons are incapable of de- 

 tecting certain sounds ; as during the time that I kept several of them living, although 

 their small sharp cry was distinctly audible to persons sitting much farther from them 

 than myself, and though I bent my attention closely to them, listening with the great- 

 est intentness, I could not detect the sound unless I placed my ear close to their cage, 

 though it was uttered frequently. On being disturbed, the sound becomes more clear 

 and piercing." — p. 54. 



The baibastelle. 



"It was taken during a very hard frost, in the latter end of December, in a large 

 chalk cavern at Chiselhurst in Kent, which is excavated at the bottom of a shaft se- 

 venty feet deep. In this cavern, during very severe frosts, several species of bats are 

 found to retreat ; and on this occasion, I received with the barbastelle a specimen of 

 V. mystacinus, three of V. Nattereri, and several of Plecotus auritus. My little pri- 

 soners, when brought into a warm room, soon began to exhibit signs of vivacity ; and 

 the barbastelle, with the others, fed readily on small bits of meat, and drank water. 

 He was a timid animal, and did not evince the slightest disposition to become ac- 

 quainted with me ; he would take his food, however, with his companions, and was ac- 

 customed to rest with them in a cluster, at the top of the box in which they were placed. 

 The barbastelle certainly became torpid more readily than any of the others, and more 

 completely so ; but when awake, evinced extreme restlessness, and was incessantly bit- 

 ing with great violence at the wires of his box. When suff'ered to fly about the room, 

 he flew very low, and less actively than any other under similar circumstances ; and 

 he was fond of lying before the fire on the hearth-rug, where he appeared quite to 

 luxuriate in the warmth. Whilst the long-eared bats evinced much attachment to 

 each other, and became very familiar with me, the barbastelle remained sullen and 

 apart; until at length I found that he was an object of persecution on the part of his 

 more active companions, one of whom I detected in the act of giving him a severe bite 

 on the back of the neck. This occasioned his immediate removal to another box ; but 

 this sharp discipline probably hastened his death, which took place about a week after- 



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