BRITISH MAMMALS 
This Bat was first discovered by the German naturalist Leisler and 
described by Kuhl in 1819. 
It inhabits Europe and Asia, where it ranges eastwards to the Himalayas. 
In Great Britain, as far as at present known, its range seems very 
limited. 
The late R. F. Tomes, in Bell's British Quadrupeds (2nd ed. p. 27), 
notes " its not unfrequent appearance at various localities in the course of 
the river Avon, in the counties of Warwick, Worcester, and Gloucester." 
Besides these localities it has been recorded from Cheshire by Mr. T. A. 
Coward {^Zoologist, 1887, p. 169), whilst in the West Riding of Yorkshire it 
appears to be plentiful near Barnsley. 
In Ireland it is a common Bat in many parts of the country, where it 
takes the place of the Noctule. 
Mr. Whitaker, in the article already referred to in Wi/d Life (p. 79-80), 
says " these bats may be seen hawking for food on mild evenings throughout 
the whole season, spring, summer, and autumn. . . . 
" They fly along the low edge of the plantation and often make 
digressions to a couple of large ash trees growing in an isolated position on 
the boundary of my garden. Round and round these they will circle with 
great persistence, snapping up moths, and doubtless other insects also, when- 
ever they flutter out a few feet from the shelter of the foliage. Their flight 
is stronger and more direct than that of the Pipistrelle, and usually at about 
twice the altitude ; on the other hand it is not quite so high or strong as 
that of the Noctule." The earliest and latest dates on which he noticed 
the Bats abroad were March 3rd and November 9th. 
Leisler's Bat is a tree-haunting species, choosing for its den some cavity 
in the trunk or branches, where it associates with others of its species 
during the summer months. In winter, when hibernating, it is said to keep 
apart from its fellows. 
20 
