. Cassell's natural history. Animals; Animal behavior. THE COLLARED BAT. 321 ar, ta the curio'.is habit of segregation on the i>art of the mules of this species, which induced the latler gentleman to give it the name of the Monk Bat. The holes occupied by the Bats contained a gieat quantity of dust looking like coarse snuff, which proved to consist entu-ely of fragments' of the hard ^larts of insects. Mr. Gosse appears not to have this Bat in houses, but he describes it as living iu gi-eat nurabei-s togetlier in the hollows of deaiyed thatch-palms. He had brought to him a Jarge ba
. Cassell's natural history. Animals; Animal behavior. THE COLLARED BAT. 321 ar, ta the curio'.is habit of segregation on the i>art of the mules of this species, which induced the latler gentleman to give it the name of the Monk Bat. The holes occupied by the Bats contained a gieat quantity of dust looking like coarse snuff, which proved to consist entu-ely of fragments' of the hard ^larts of insects. Mr. Gosse appears not to have this Bat in houses, but he describes it as living iu gi-eat nurabei-s togetlier in the hollows of deaiyed thatch-palms. He had brought to him a Jarge basket containing a number of the Bats obtained from such a tree, and says that, on being uncovered, it " displayed a pretty scene of dusky life. The ' pie' of ovu-. infant days, that contained â ^ four-and-twenty blackbu'ds' all ready to sing, was nothing to it. Fifty Bats, all alive and kicking, â¢were huddled into the narrow space ; an arrangement which, considering their natural propensities, â was probably not very disagreeable to them. 1 examined forty-three, a few escaping from the crowd, and if I was surprised before at the extent of their gregarious habits, I was still more surprised to find that of this number every one was of the male sex, as had been the one formerly examined As they huddled and crawled over each other they emitted quivering squeaks. They all dis- played the extraordinary activity mentioned above, preferring to run rather than fly, though a few took to wing. In climbing, to suspend themselve,s, they used the thumbs or the hind-feet indis- criminately. In running along the floor, an action which they performed very swiftly, they rested on the wrists, elevating the fore-parts of the body ; THE COLLAKED BAT.* The Mas till Bats certainly cannot of any great in their aspect, but they must yield the palm of ugliness to a curious species described by Dr. Hoi-sfleld. It Ls a clumsy, heavy-looking animal, of co
Size: 1702px × 1468px
Photo credit: © Book Worm / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjecta, booksubjectanimals
