46 



Si?iif/i : Lincolnshire Mammals. 



The Rev. E. Adrian Woodruff Peacock g-ives in his ' Fenhmd 

 Soils ' a fine word picture of the fauna of the peat. He says : — ■ 

 ' In the Oak forest of the old peat, Squirrels lived and piled 

 their store of hazel nuts for winter food ; Bees collected honey 

 from the fragrant flowers of the Deer-haunted glades ; the 

 Marten Cat caught birds in the trees ; and the Fox, Wild Dog, 

 and Bear found a congenial home in the denser thickets. 

 The Wild Boar and four species of Deer w'ere rangers of the 

 woods, and shared the pastures with two breeds of Oxen. 

 Pike and other fish lived in the pools, which were also the home 

 of the Otter and Beaver, while Swans and other birds, too 

 numerous to name, visited the lakelets, and the Herons hunted 

 the reedy shallows as they do to-day.' 



Order CHIROPTERA. 



Fam. VESPERTILIONID.^. 



Plecotus auritus L, Long-eared Bat. Is a common species almost 

 everywhere and has been taken many times in the county. 



Vesperugo NOCTULA Schreber. Noctule. Though generally a southern 

 species, becoming- more rare northwards, it occurs fairly numerously in 

 Lincolnshire. 



Vesperugo pipistrei lus Sch. The Common Bat. Exceedingly abundant. 



Vespertilio daubentonii Leisl. Daubenton's Bat. G. H. Caton Haigh 

 says: — 'This is a local species from the nature of its haunts, and 

 has occurred in most places in North Lincolnshire. In ' The Zoologist,' 

 1889, Mr. Haigh instances one resting on the water at Grainsby Hall, 

 near Grimsby. 



Vespertilio nattereri Kuhl. Reddish-Grey Bat. Once obtained, 

 Grainsby, July 1876, by G. H. Caton Haigh. 



Order INSECTIVORA. 



Fam. ERINACEID.^:. 



Erinaceus europ-EUS L. The Hedgehog. Very common in all parts of 

 the county. In the 'Field,' November 1889, Mr. Samuel Allenby 

 reports a specimen 'perfectly white w^th pink eyes' occurring" at Cad- 

 well, near Louth, 



Fam. TALPID.^. 



Talpa EL ROP.iiA L. Mole. Very common, Mr, \V. Burton, of Stamford, 

 has a specimen of the white form of this mammal, taken in the neigh- 

 bourhood. 



Fam. SONCID.^, 



SOREX VULGARIS L. COMMON Shrew. Very abundant, 



SOREX minutus L. Lesser Shrew. Fairly common in wooded districts. 



Crossopus fodiens Pall, Water Shrew. Common in the drains of the 

 marsh and fen districts. The black variety occurs with it but is less 

 common (G, H. Caton Haigh). INIr. A. R. Yeoman gives the following- 

 note in ' The Naturalist,' 1893 : - ' I captured a Water Shrew in Monk s 



Naturalist, 



