. The natural history of Selborne [microform]. Natural history; Sciences naturelles. The Natural History of Selborne 51. S^aw/}nc^ At present I know only two species of bats, the common vespertilio murinus and the vespertilio aurihus} I was much entertained last summer with a tame bat, which would take flies out of a person's hand. If you gave it anything to eat, it brought its wings round before the mouth, hovering and hiding its head in the manner of birds of prey when they feed. The adroitness it showed in shearing off the wings of the flies, which were always rejected, was worthy of observ
. The natural history of Selborne [microform]. Natural history; Sciences naturelles. The Natural History of Selborne 51. S^aw/}nc^ At present I know only two species of bats, the common vespertilio murinus and the vespertilio aurihus} I was much entertained last summer with a tame bat, which would take flies out of a person's hand. If you gave it anything to eat, it brought its wings round before the mouth, hovering and hiding its head in the manner of birds of prey when they feed. The adroitness it showed in shearing off the wings of the flies, which were always rejected, was worthy of observation, and pleased me much. Insects seemed to be most acceptable, though it did not refuse raw flesh when offered ; so that the notion, that bats go down chimneys and gnaw men's bacon, seems no improbable story. While I amused myself with this wonderful quadruped, I saw it several times confute the vulgar opinion, that bats when down upon a flat surface cannot get on the wing again, by rising with great ease from the floor. It ran, I observed, with more dispatch than I was aware of; but in a most ridiculous and grotesque manner. Bats drink on the wing, like swallows, by sipping the surface, as they play over pools and streams. They love to frequent waters, ' It is not probable that White had seen the true Vespertilio murinus, which is a very rare bat; what he mistook for it must have been the Pipistrelle. His other species was doubtless the long-eared bat, Plecotus auritus.—Ed. 11. Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original White, Gilbert, 1720-1793; Allen, Grant, 1848-1899. London; New York : J. Lane
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, books, booksubjectnaturalhistory
