Page:The Zoologist, 1st series, vol 1 (1843).djvu/95

Rh pitching on the hand, take the fly without hesitation. If the insect were held between the lips, the hat would then settle on its young patron's cheek, and take the fly with great gentleness from the mouth: and so far was this familiarity carried, that when either of my young friends made a humming noise with the mouth in imitation of an insect, the hat would search about the lips for the promised dainty.

"The progression of this species on the ground differs considerablyfrom that of all the species of true Vespertilio that I have seen. Instead of running quickly along the ground in a horizontal posture with the head low, the fore parts are somewhat raised and the body thrown forward by successive jerkings, given alternately on one side and the other.

"The large and beautiful ears are usually folded under the arm during sleep, especially if the sleep be profound: and this is also the case during hybernation; the long tragus then hangs down, and gives the animal the appearance of having short and slender ears. Indeed, a person who had not seen it in the act of folding its ears, could never imagine it to be the same species when they are fully expanded. This circumstance refutes the notion suggested by Edwards and adopted by Pennant, that the 'lesser ear may possibly serve as a valve to close the larger in the sleeping state of this animal.'

"The cry of this species is acute and shrill, but not loud. It affords a rather remarkable illustration of the well-known fact, that some persons are incapable of detecting certain sounds; as during the time that I kept several of them living, although their small sharp cry was distinctly audible to persons sitting much farther from them than myself, and though I bent my attention closely to them, listening with the greatest intentness, I could not detect the sound unless I placed my ear close to their cage, though it was uttered frequently. On being disturbed, the sound becomes more clear and piercing."—p. 54.

The barbastelle.

"It was taken during a very hard frost, in the latter end of December, in a large chalk cavern at Chiselhurst in Kent, which is excavated at the bottom of a shaft seventy feet deep. In this cavern, during very severe frosts, several species of bats are found to retreat; and on this occasion, I received with the barbastelle a specimen of V. mystacinus, three of V. Nattereri, and several of Plecotus auritus. My little prisoners, when brought into a warm room, soon began to exhibit signs of vivacity; and the barbastelle, with the others, fed readily on small bits of meat, and drank water. He was a timid animal, and did not evince the slightest disposition to become acquainted with me; he would take his food, however, with his companions, and was accustomed to rest with them in a cluster, at the top of the box in which they were placed. The barbastelle certainly became torpid more readily than any of the others, and more completely so; but when awake, evinced extreme restlessness, and was incessantly biting with great violence at the wires of his box. When suffered to fly about the room, le flew very low, and less actively than any other under similar circumstances; and le was fond of lying before the fire on the hearth-rug, where he appeared quite to luxuriate in the warmth. Whilst the long-eared bats evinced much attachment to 3ach other, and became very familiar with me, the barbastelle remained sullen and ipart; until at length I found that he was an object of persecution on the part of his more active companions, one of whom I detected in the act of giving him a severe bite on the back of the neck. This occasioned his immediate removal to another box; but this sharp discipline probably hastened his death, which took place about a week after-