. The American natural history; a foundation of useful knowledge of the higher animals of North America. Natural history. POSSESSORS OF A SIXTH SENSE? 165 In fashioning the noses and ears of bats, Nature has done some very odd and curious work. The flowers of orchids are not more oddly fashioned than the heads and faces of some species. Let it not be supposed, however, that these queer facial appendages and long ears of the leaf-nosed bats are purely ornamental. Dr. George E. Dobson, one of the greatest authorities on bats, has pointed out two very curious facts. (1) The bats with small ears a
. The American natural history; a foundation of useful knowledge of the higher animals of North America. Natural history. POSSESSORS OF A SIXTH SENSE? 165 In fashioning the noses and ears of bats, Nature has done some very odd and curious work. The flowers of orchids are not more oddly fashioned than the heads and faces of some species. Let it not be supposed, however, that these queer facial appendages and long ears of the leaf-nosed bats are purely ornamental. Dr. George E. Dobson, one of the greatest authorities on bats, has pointed out two very curious facts. (1) The bats with small ears and no nose-leaves fly most in the early twilight; and many, such as the fruit-bats, fly in the day- time. (2) The long-eared and leaf- nosed bats prefer darkness, and seek their food only at night. Let us see if we can find a reason for this. A cruel investigator of the eight- eenth century, named Spallanzani, once destroyed the eyesight of several bats, then suspended many silken threads from the ceiling of a room and liberated the creatures. Although totally blind, the bats flew to and fro between the threads, without once striking them, and were equally successful in avoiding branches of trees that were introduced. It now seems certain that some bats possess a sixth sense, of which at present we know nothing, by which they are able to fly in total darkness, and avoid even the smallest obstructions. It seems quite probable that the long ears and nose-leaves of the night-going bats aid their owners in guiding their. bLainville's flower- nosed BAT. (After Peters.). 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 Hornaday, William Temple, 1854-1937. New York, C. Scribner's Sons
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, bookp, booksubjectnaturalhistory
