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 A HISTORY OF WORCESTERSHIRE salmon are ascending a stream the porpoises try to get between them and the narrow part of the river if true would account for this, even if the more obvious reason, the porpoises following the salmon as far as they could up the river, did not do so. Since the erection of the Navigation Weirs at Gloucester and Tewkesbury the appearance of a porpoise in Worcestershire is almost unknown. The result is that the ordinary Worcestershire mammals are confined to the bats {Cheiroptera), insect eaters {Insectivord) moles and shrews, the small carnivora and the rodents, which give a total of thirty-two. The only list of the county mammals which has yet been published was that in 1834 by Sir Charles Hastings in his Illustrations of the Natural History of Worcestershire, which is not and did not claim to be exhaus- tive and was in some cases compiled on insufficient observations. It is believed that the present is the first attempt that has been made to give a complete list. From the varied nature of different parts of the county it is quite possible that some species with a very local range may be omitted, but it is believed all are included. Those mentioned have been strictly verified, while some, Uke the greater horse-shoe bat {Rhino- lophus ferrum-equinuni) which Sir Charles Hastings mentions as having been found in Worcestershire, but of which no verified recorded appear- ance exists, and is not usually found so far north, are omitted. CHEIROPTERA 1. Lesser Horse-shoe Bat. Rhinolophus h'lppo- siderus, Bechstein. The lesser horse-shoe bat is by no means rare in this county as well as in the adjoining ones. It is generally found singly, though sometimes in considerable numbers. Many years ago it frequented the roof of Ragley Hall, the seat of the Marquis of Hertford, from which place the author took a considerable number, some of which were kept alive for two or three weeks. They were remarkably shy and re- tiring in their habits, but particularly quiet and gentle. In the large open space in the roof of the mansion some of these small bats might be seen flitting about in the gloom at any time of the day, but they shunned observ- ation, and retreated to some cranny or joint in the timber when approached. Although numerous there, they were always found hidden away singly. Of the flight of this bat or of its habits when abroad in the night I can say nothing, not a single example hav- ing ever in my experience been obtained by the use of the gun. 2. Long-eared Bat. Plecotus auritus, Linn. The comparatively enormous size of the ears of this bat will at once distinguish it from all other British species. Each ear is almost as long as the body and head of the animal. If you could imagine a horse with ears five or six feet long, you would have some idea of the relative size of those parts in this remarkable species. Though not by any means abundant, the long-eared bat is not local in Worcestershire, but inhabits the whole of the county. Old buildings and churches are its favourite places of retire- ment, but so far as has at present been observed, preference is shown to certain spots, where they congregate, though they are not properly speaking gregarious. 3. Barbastelle. Barhastella barbastellus, Schre- ber. Bell — Barbastellus daubentonii. This is a very solitary species, and by no means common in the county. All sorts of odd places are chosen by the barbastelle in which to repose during the day. Any crev- ice will serve its turn, and it would seem that the same place is not frequented on con- secutive days, as bats of this species have more than once been found in places which could only be temporary. I remember to have seen one taken from a stack of boards in a timber yard at Arrow near Alcester, which stack had only been put there the day 172