y E S P E 
sharp at the ends, and pointing forwards; tail inclosed in 
the membrane which joins to each hind-leg, and supported 
by two long cartilaginous ligaments, involved in the mem¬ 
brane; colour of the fur iron-grey; body of the size of a 
middling rat, and extent of wing two feet five inches. 
II.—Fore-teeth in the upper Jaw four, in the lower six. 
8. Vespertilio auritus.—Tailed bat, with simple or in- 
appendiculated mouth and nose, and double ears larger than 
the head. This is the iong-eared English bat of Edwards, 
the oreiller of Buffon, and the long-eared bat of Pennant. 
This very much resembles the next species, but is rather 
smaller, and the fur has less of the reddish tinge; but it is 
distinguished by the very large size of the ears, which are 
more than an inch long, and very considerably wide; 
slightly rounded at the tips, and furnished internally with a 
kind of secondary auricle or internal flap, so placed as to 
serve by way of a valve or guard to the auditory passage. 
9 . Vespertilio murinus.—Tailed bat, with simple nose, 
and ears smaller than the head. This is the chauve-souris 
of Buffon, the short-eared English bat of Edwards, and the 
common bat of Pennant. It is about two inches and a half 
from the nose to the tip of the tail, and the extent of the 
wings, fully expanded, is about nine inches: it is of a 
mouse-colour, tinged with reddish; the wings and ears black, 
the latter being small and rounded. 
This and the former bats are the two most common spe¬ 
cies in this country; and they are those which are seen flut¬ 
tering about in the evenings of summer and autumn; often 
uttering a sharp, stridulous note or scream during their flight, 
and pursuing the various insects on which they feed, parti¬ 
cularly moths. They are sometimes taken by throwing up 
the heads of burdock whitened with flour, being thus caught 
by the hooked prickles and brought to the ground. The bat 
is, like the mouse, capable of being tamed to a certain de¬ 
gree. Insects are its favourite food, though it will not reject 
raw flesh when offered; so that the notion that bats go down 
chimneys and gnaw men’s bacon is not improbable. The 
vulgar opinion, that bats, when on a flat surface, cannot 
get on the wing again, is erroneous. Bats are commonly 
supposed to produce two at a birth, which they suckle for a 
considerable time. When recently born, they adhere so 
tenaciously to the breast of the parent, as not to be removed 
without great difficulty: they lodge in great numbers in the 
cavities of old buildings, under the projections of walls, in 
the hollows of trees, in rocky places, &c. &c. ' In these re¬ 
cesses they lie torpid during winter, till the warmth of the 
vernal atmosphere invites them abroad to make their evening 
excursions. When taken torpid, and brought into a warm 
situation, they awake from their slumber, and again expand 
their wings. During their state of torpidity, the circulation 
of the blood is not perceivable in the smaller vessels, but 
when awakened by warmth, it becomes visible by the mi¬ 
croscope. Bats are said to drink on the wing by sipping the 
surface, like swallows, as they play over pools and streams. 
They are fond of frequenting waters, not only for the sake of 
drinking, but on account of the insects that hover over them. 
The general appearance of the bat, together with its noc¬ 
turnal flight, excites the idea of something that is hideous 
and dismal; and therefore the ancients consecrated it to Pro¬ 
serpine; and hence painters, in their representations of fiends 
and demons, usually exhibit them with the leathern wings of 
the bat. It is also no less evident, that the larger bats of India 
and Africa might, by a little poetical exaggeration* serve very 
well in a general description of the fabulous Harpies. Spal- 
“’ h 7 found that >ts would fly in the darkest 
chamber with precision, and without touching the walls, 
discovered also the same exactness in their motions, when 
their eyes were closely covered; and he even destroyed the 
eyes and covered their sockets with leather; and in this state 
they were equally accurate in all their movements. Similar 
experiments were tried by several other naturalists, with the 
same result. In order to account for these phenomena pro! 
R T I L I O. 369 
vations. Neither the touch, nor ear, nor smell, nor taste, is 
sufficient in his opinion to supply the want of sight; but 
from some anatomical investigations of these animals, he 
concluded that a very large proportion of nerves is expanded 
on the upper jaw, the muzzle, and the organ of hearing; 
and these appeared to him, in a great degree, to account for 
the extraordinary faculty above mentioned. Mr. Carlisle’s 
observations on this subject lead us to conclude that the sense 
of hearing in the bat is extremely delicate, and that this is 
one of the principal causes of the dexterity with which these 
animals, even when blinded, avoid objects which would im¬ 
pede their flight. Mr. Carlisle found, that when the exter¬ 
nal ears of the vespertilio auritus in a state of blindness were 
closed, it struck against the sides of the room, without being 
at all aware of its situation. These bats refused every kind 
of food for four days, as was also the case with others which 
were preserved in a dark box for above a week. During the 
day-time they were very desirous of retirement and dark¬ 
ness; and, while confined to the box, never moved nor en¬ 
deavoured to get out during the whole day, and when spread 
on the carpet, they crawled slowly to a dark corner or creJ 
vice. At sun-set, the scene was quite changed; every one 
of them then endeavoured to scratch its way out of the box; 
a continued chirping was heard, and no sooner was the lid 
of their prison opened than each was active to escape, either 
flying away immediately, or running nimbly to a conve¬ 
nient place for taking wing. When these bats were first 
collected, several of the females had young ones clinging to 
their breasts in the act of sucking. One of them flew with 
perfect ease, though two litlle ones were thus attached to her, 
which weighed nearly as much as their parent. All the 
young were destitute of down, and were of a black colour. 
10. Vespertilio noctula.—Tailed bat, with nose and mouth 
simple; oval ears, and very small valves. This is the noc- 
tule of Buffon, and great bat of Pennant. This species is 
larger than the vespertilio auritus, its extended wings mea¬ 
suring from fourteen to fifteen inches; the length from the 
nose to the tip of the tail being about four inches and a 
half; the nose is slightly bilobated; the eyes are small and 
rounded; the body is fleshy and plump; the shoulders very 
thick and muscular; the fur very soft and glossy, and of a 
bright chesnut-colour.—This is an inhabitant of Britain and 
France; and is said to be common in some parts of Russia, 
sheltering in caverns. It flies high in the air in search of 
food, and does not skim near the surface, like the smaller 
bats. It has been found occasionally in great numbers 
under the eaves of old buildings, and its smell is generally 
strong and unpleasant. 
11. Vespertilio serotinus. — Tailed yellowish bat, with 
short emarginated ears. This is the serotine of Buffon; its 
length from nose to rump two inches and a half.—A na’tive 
of France, and found in Russia. 
12. Vespertilio pipistrellus.—Tailed blackish-brown bat, 
with convex front and ovate emarginated ears, scarcely 
longer than the head. The pipistrelle of Buffon and of 
Pennant.—This is a small species, and found in France. 
The length from nose to rump scarcely an inch and a quar¬ 
ter; the extent of wings somewhat more than six inches. 
13. Vespertilio barbastellus.—Tailed bat, with elevated 
hairy cheeks, and large ears angulated on the lower part. 
The barbastelle of Buffon and of Pennant. Length about 
two inches from nose to tail; extent about ten inches; 
upper part of the body dusky-brown, lower part ash-co¬ 
loured; ears broad and long; nose short; cheeks full; and 
end of the nose flattened.—Found in France. 
14. Vespertilio hispidus.—Tailed hairy bat, with chan¬ 
nelled nostrils, and long narrow ears. The bearded bat of 
Pennant; a small species: above reddish-brown; beneath 
whitish, tinged with yellow; nostrils open; hair on the fore¬ 
head and under the chin very long; tail included in a very 
veiny membrane. 
III.— -Fore-teeth in the upper Jaw four, in the lower eight. 
15. Vespertilio pictus.—Tailed bat, with simple nose, 
and funnel-shaped appendiculated ears. The autre chauve- 
3 Z souris 
