Page:The Zoologist, 4th series, vol 5 (1901).djvu/80

56 ground, and supported on the feet and wrists only. The tail is curved downwards and forwards, and the interfemoral membrane pressed against the belly. The fore limb is spread considerably, but the phalanges with their connecting wing-membrane are tightly closed and folded back along the lower arm. In ascending a curtain or picture-frame, the claws on the thumbs are brought into use, and the tail, instead of being curved beneath the body, is then extended backwards, with the tip pressed closely against the surface of the object up which the Bat is climbing. For the time being it is analogous to the stiffened retrices of a Woodpecker or Tree-Creeper.

Any instinctive dread which Bats may have of man disappears quickly in captivity, but the Noctule is exceptionally fearless. Within a few minutes of their capture, I took two of the Bats singly from among their struggling fellows in the bag, and, holding them in one hand, offered mealworms with the other. So cramped were they that they could not move their limbs, but they seized and devoured the insects with the utmost sang froid. On the same evening others were climbing about my arms and neck without any signs of fear; and the old female which I had for several weeks used habitually to clamber up my arm as it rested on the table, and snuggle against my neck.

Before settling down to sleep after it has fed, the Noctule, like other Bats, goes through a somewhat elaborate toilet. The wings and interfemoral membrane are thoroughly cleansed by licking, and the fur of the whole of the body is scrupulously combed, the sharp claws of the toes being well suited for the purpose. During the process the Bat frequently sucks its toes, the moisture serving doubtless to keep the beautiful golden fur sleek and clean. No one who has watched a Bat clean itself, as it hangs suspended first by one foot and then the other, can fail to be struck by the creature's suppleness and agility.

In another respect this species resembles all the Bats I have kept in captivity. It never attempts to pick up food which it has accidentally dropped. It is true that when running about the table a Bat may encounter a half-eaten moth or mealworm, which it will seize and devour, but this is tantamount to finding a fresh insect altogether. If, however, a fragment of beef or a decapitated moth is dropped, and lies on the table immediately beneath