. The animals of the world. Brehm's life of animals;. Mammals. 78 THE WING-HANDED ANIMALS. Every kind has its own hunting-grounds in for- ests, orchards, avenues and streets, over stagnant or slowly-flowing water surfaces, etc. It is rare that Bats fly over open fields, for the simple reason that there is no game for them. In the fertile South they also haunt maize and rice fields, for these always harbor a great many insects, which are their lawful prey. Their hunting ground will not usually cover an area greater than a thousand feet; although some larger species might perhaps go one mile, an
. The animals of the world. Brehm's life of animals;. Mammals. 78 THE WING-HANDED ANIMALS. Every kind has its own hunting-grounds in for- ests, orchards, avenues and streets, over stagnant or slowly-flowing water surfaces, etc. It is rare that Bats fly over open fields, for the simple reason that there is no game for them. In the fertile South they also haunt maize and rice fields, for these always harbor a great many insects, which are their lawful prey. Their hunting ground will not usually cover an area greater than a thousand feet; although some larger species might perhaps go one mile, and the prominent tropical species may fly over much greater distances, as they have been known to travel from one island to another several miles apart. The Bats are gregarious, but only under certain conditions. There are species that are hostile to, and occasionally make a meal of each other. Blood- sucking Vampires will attack Long-eared Bats for the purpose of sucking their blood, and the latter will avenge the wrong by eating their THE KALOITG BAT. This picture shows the great Kalong stalking out upon the branch of a tree in quest of fruit of which it is so fond, the position being that always assumed by the Slotli. The great " spurs " of the creature are clearly sliown as well as its gentle eye and small ear. The Kalong is gregarious and always moves in great swanns. (Plerofus edulis.) The food of Bats consists of fruit, insects, small vertebrata, and blood sucked from larger animals. The Bats of Europe feed only on insects, especially Night-butterflies, Beetles, Flies and Mosquitoes. Their greed is exceptional, the larger ones devour- ing with ease a dozen Beetles, and the smallest ones eating several dozen Flies without having their hunger satisfied. The more active they are, the more food they require, and for this reason are ex- ceedingly useful animals, meriting the favor of Man for ridding the world of so many pests. Of course such is not the c
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectmammals, bookyear1895
