In its habits this kind seems to agree with the Greater Horseshoe Bat. As already mentioned, the two species were taken together by Montagu in “Kent’s Hole,” clinging in considerable numbers to the vaulted roof of the interior apartments. It was first discovered by him in rather a singular situation, namely, a hole over a baker’s oven, which it had entered through a fissure. He afterwards found it in a dark shed surrounded by tall trees, at Lackham, in Wiltshire. In the second edition of Mr. Bell’s “British Quadrupeds” there is an interesting account of the manners of this species. The writer mentions the occurrence of the Lesser Horseshoe Bat in two localities in Warwickshire, one of these being the roof of the neglected mansion of the Marquis of Hertford at Ragley, near Alcester. Numbers of Long-eared Bats were found, chiefly in pairs, in holes in the massive timbers, but “although several of the Horseshoe Bats were seen flitting in the deep gloom, broken only by an occasional gleam of light through some small crevice, and by our lighted candle, yet a careful search was for some time unrewarded by the discovery of a single individual in its resting-place. A great accumulation of excrement around a huge central stack of chimneys at length attracted attention, and a long stick, thrust upwards in a narrow opening between the chimneys, soon dislodged several of these Bats, which were caught as they descended, and before they were well on the wing, after which pursuit proved useless. Some of these examples being at various times liberated in a room, exhibited extraordinary powers of flight. One of them displayed in its search for a means of exit an ability which was quite extraordinary. It literally flew into every part of the room, and behind and under everything, even under a bookcase standing against a wall, although there was scarcely a space of three inches between it and the floor ... it flew into a vacancy occasioned by the removal of a moderate octavo volume, without having so much as touched anything with the tips of its wings.” In examining the window this Bat searched every pane inch by inch, its wings while thus occupied being “kept in a vibratory state, the face of the animal being directly in front of the glass, and very near to it, as if looking out of window.” The impression produced on the observers was that the animal was “feeling its way about like a blind person;” but “at the same time its shyness when approached sufficiently testified that its organs of sight were by no means inactive.” In order to rest, instead of adhering like most other Bats against some object by means of its claws, it always sought for something from which it could hang freely. According to Dr. Leach this Bat is easily tamed, but is fond of concealing itself.
Besides the English localities already mentioned, the Lesser Horseshoe Bat is found not unfrequently at Cirencester and in some parts of Ireland. Professor King obtained it in Galway; and from the statements of Mr. Foot and Professor Kinahan it appears to be the commonest Bat in some parts of County Clare. Its European distribution is much the same as that of the preceding species, but it seems to extend rather farther to the north. It is also found in the Caucasus and in South-western Siberia. North African specimens are said to be paler in colour than European.[168]
THE MOURNING HORSESHOE BAT.[169]
HEAD OF THE MOURNING
HORSESHOE BAT.
Other species of Rhinolophus are met with chiefly in India and the Asiatic Islands. One of the most striking of them, and indeed the largest species of the genus, measuring more than three and a half-inches in length, is the Mourning Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus luctus, see [figure]), an inhabitant of the higher grounds of India, Ceylon, Java, Sumatra, and the Philippine Islands. This Bat is remarkable for the great development of the nasal appendages, the central leaf being expanded on each side into a lobe nearly as long as the central ascending portion, the horseshoe very large, so as to project beyond the upper lip, and the frontal leaf so long as to ascend between the ears. The latter organs are also of great size, and have a large basal lobe (antitragus) separated from the outer margin of the ear by a deep angular notch. The fur is very long and thick, and usually black with grey tips, so that the species appears to be in mourning, whence its specific name; it is, however, subject to considerable variation in this respect, some specimens being reddish-brown. Captain Hutton, who resided for a considerable time at Mussooree, has described the habits of this Bat, which he found in the Himalayas up to an elevation of 5,500 feet, where it was “hanging from the roof of an outhouse, looking, with its ample black wings folded round it as a cloak, somewhat like a large black cocoon.” He says that it commences its flight rather early in the evening, and generally keeps at about twenty or thirty feet from the ground, wheeling, with a somewhat heavy and noiseless flight, around buildings and large trees in search of small Moths and other insects. He adds that he has taken them from the roofs of outhouses and from wide caves in limestone rocks, and that they seem generally to live in pairs and not in communities, although several pairs may be found in a large cave. At Mussooree they fly only during the warmer months, and remain in a semi-torpid state during the winter, but Captain Hutton suggests that in the warmer climates of Sikkim and the Khasia hills they may be active all the year round. Another smaller species with a similar central nose-leaf has been described under the name of R. trifoliatus; it is an inhabitant of the eastern coast of India, Java, and Borneo. These two species form the genus Aquias of the late Dr. Gray.[170]
THE AUSTRALIAN HORSESHOE BAT.[171]
A single species of Rhinolophus occurs in Australia, having been obtained from caverns on the Murrumbidgee River, and also near Richmond River in New South Wales. It has pale mouse-coloured fur. The ears are large, with long basal lobes, and the nasal appendages are larger than in the European species, the frontal leaf being lance-shaped and long, and the horseshoe rather deeply notched in front. In allusion to the large size of the nose-leaves this species has been called R. megaphyllus.
THE ORANGE BAT.[172]
