THE CHESTNUT MASTIFF-BAT. 
161 
rather large size ; the ikf. rufus of Geoff., as I 
believe. 
Several other specimens I obtained in the same 
way, on the same and other evenings ; but the 
residue evidently became increasingly suspicious, and 
loath to leave the hole while I was watching. Wish- 
ing to examine one alive more carefully, I allowed it 
to remain in the bag of the gauze-net all night, 
simply giving the net a twist over the rod. In the 
morning, however, to my great chagrin, I found the 
Bat almost entirely devoured by Rats,^which are here 
very bold and voracious. However, I had other op- 
portunities of studying the habits of the species in 
captivity. 
When handled, its impatience of confinement is 
manifested by a continuous screeching, not very loud, 
but excessively harsh and shrill. The ears are com- 
monly so pendent as completely to cover the eyes ; 
but they are occasionally contracted, so as to expose 
the eyes, especially if the face be touched. The 
mouth also is then opened widely and threateningly, 
and a sufficiently grim armature of teeth developed. 
The volar membranes are narrow in proportion to 
their length. There is a gland on the throat with an 
orifice capable of admitting a small straw ; it emits a 
very rank odour. This orifice is manifest in the 
female no less than in the male, but I could not de- 
tect any odour from it in the former, even though 
irritated by the insertion of the head of a pin. The 
duct does not penetrate farther than the gland itself. 
A female which I kept a few days was very sullen. 
I offered her cockroaches, a noctua^ and a longicorn 
