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BRITISH MAMMALS 
as the only county in which it may be said to be common, giving 
Yalding as a locality where it is numerous, the other places mentioned 
being Folkestone, Maidstone, Canterbury, Riverschurch, Charlton, Walder- 
share, Dartford, and Wingham. 
It has rarely occurred north of the Thames, two or three having been 
recorded from Essex; and in The Zoologist (1892, p. 403) Mr. Coburn 
mentions a specimen from the neighbourhood of Birmingham. 
The Serotine was first described by Daubenton in 1759- Its manner 
of flight, as described by various observers, appears to differ according 
to the kind of prey in season, or the state of weather prevailing at the 
time, as it seems averse to cold and damp. At times it flutters through 
open spaces sheltered by trees, feeding on cockchafers and other insects, 
and at others flies high aloft, frequently swooping obliquely downwards in 
a sudden dive in an effort to secure some insect at a lower level than 
itself 
The same characteristic dive may also often be noticed in the 
Noctule. 
The late Major Barrett-Hamilton, describing their flight as witnessed 
at Yalding, says (A History of British Mammals, part iii. p. 136): 
" They now flew higher, often at thirty or forty feet, but not, I think, 
exceeding the height of tall elms or of gunshot, and often descending 
near to the ground. Their flight was not unlike that of the Pipistrelle, 
but their beat was wider and their pace relatively less rapid. They could 
not be described as weak fliers, nor was their pace slow, but they clearly 
lacked the dash and finish of the Noctule, one or two of which were 
present for comparison." He also states (p. 1-37), " Despite its name, 
the Serotine is an early flier, perhaps the earliest of all British Bats." 
This species evidently does not fly throughout the whole night, but 
for how long does not seem to be known precisely. It is sociable in its 
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