ORDER OE CHEIROPTERA. 
523 ' 
that of the high-soaring Birds, which, full of grace and assurance 
aloft, are compelled to resort to the most painful efforts to ascend 
again from low levels. 
The Cheiroptera are essentially nocturnal. Their eyes, although 
small, are organised for seeing, not in complete darkness, but in 
the gloaming, or in the feeble light of the moon and stars. They 
retire during day to caverns, abandoned quarries, lofts, church 
spires, old ruins, or the trunks of trees, where they remain until 
Fig. 228.-Roussettes in a state of rest. 
evening. From the walls of these sombre dwellings they suspend 
themselves head downwards by their hind feet, the strong curved 
claws of which are exactly suited for this purpose. 
They frequently hang to each other, forming such curious, com- 
pact masses that no one who has not seen them can have any idea of 
their grotesqueness. In certain subterranean caverns the number 
of Bats is so considerable that the roof cannot be seen for them. 
If we except vision and taste, which do not appear to he very 
