the Bat; a genus of quadrupeds, belonging to the order of primates. All the teeth are erect, pointed, near each other; and the first four are equal. The fore-feet have the toes connected by a membrane expanded into a kind of wings by which the creature is enabled to fly. There are 28 species, of which 4 are natives of Britain. The most remarkable are,

1. The vampyrus, vampire, or 'ternate bat, with large canine teeth; four cutting teeth above, the same below; sharp black nose; large naked ears; the tongue is pointed, terminated by sharp acuated papillae; talons very crooked, strong, and compressed sidewise; no tail; the membrane divided behind quite to the rump; head of a dark ferruginous colour; on the neck, shoulder, and under-side, of a much lighter and brighter red; on the back the hair shorter, dusky, and smooth; the membranes of the wings dusky. They vary in colour; some being entirely of a reddish brown, others dusky.

These monsters inhabit Guinea, Madagascar, and all the islands from thence to the remotest in the Indian Ocean. They fly in flocks, and perfectly obscure the air with their numbers; they begin their flight from one neighbouring island to another immediately on sunset, and return in clouds from the time it is light till sun-rise. They live on fruits; and are fond of the juice of the palm-tree, that they will intoxicate themselves with it till they drop on the ground. It is most likely, from the size of their teeth, they are carnivorous. Mr Edwards relates, that they will dip into the sea for fish. They swarm like bees; hanging by one another from the trees in great clusters. The Indians eat them, and declare the flesh to be very good; they grow excessively fat at certain times of the year. The French who live in the Ile de Bourbon boil them in their bouillon, to give it a relish. The negroes have them in abhorrence. Many are of an enormous size; Boeckman measured one, whose extent from tip to tip of the wings was five feet four inches; and Dampier another, which extended farther than he could reach with out-stretched arms. Their bodies are from the size of a pullet to that of a dove; their cry is dreadful, their smell rank, their bite, repulsive, and fierceness great, when taken.

The ancients had some knowledge of these animals. Herodotus mentions certain winged wild beasts like bats, that molested the Arabs who collected the caria, to such a degree, that they were obliged to cover their faces, all but their eyes, with skins. It is very probable, as M. de Buffon remarks, it was from such relations that poets formed their fictions of Harpies.

Linnaeus gives this species the title of vampyre; conjecturing it to be the kind which draws blood from people in their sleep. M. de Buffon denies it; ascribing that faculty only to a species found in South America. But there is reason to imagine that this thirst after blood is not confined to the bats of one continent nor to one species: for Bonitus and Nieuhoff inform us, that the bats of Java seldom fail attacking persons who lie with their feet uncovered, whenever they can get access; and Gumilla, after mentioning a greater and less species found on the banks of the Orinoco, declares them to be equally greedy after human blood. Persons thus attacked have been known to be near passing from a sound sleep into eternity. The bat is so dexterous a bleeder, as to infuse its acuated tongue into a vein without being perceived, and then suck the blood till it is satiated; all the while fanning with its wings, and agitating the air in that hot climate in so pleasing a manner, as to fling the sufferer into a still sounder sleep. It is therefore very unsafe to rest either in the open air, or to leave open any entrance to these dangerous animals: but they do not confine themselves to human blood; for M. Condamine says, that in certain parts of America they have destroyed all the great cattle introduced there by the missionaries. See Plate DX. fig. 3.

2. The spectrum, or foetid, with a long nose; large teeth; long, broad, and upright ears; at the end of the nose a long conic erect membrane, bending at the end, and flexible; hair on the body cinereous, and pretty long; wings full of ramified fibres; the membrane extends from hind leg to hind leg; no tail; but from the rump extend three tendons, terminating at the edge of the membrane. By Seba's figure the extent of the wings are two feet two inches; from the end of the nose to the rump, seven inches and an half.

Inhabits South America; lives in the palm trees; grows very fat; called vampyre by M. de Buffon, who supposes it to be the species that sucks human blood: but neither Piso, nor any other writer who mentions the fact, gives the least description of the kind.

3. The Peruvian bat hath a head like a pug-dog; large straight-pointed ears; two canine teeth, and two small cutting teeth between each, in each jaw: the tail is inclosed in the membrane which joins to each hind-leg, and is also supported by two long cartilaginous ligaments involved in the membrane; colour of the fur, iron grey; body equal to that of a middle-sized rat; extent of the wings two feet five inches.

4. The noctule hath the nose slightly bilobated; ears small and rounded; on the chin a minute verruca; hair reddish ash-colour; length of the rump two inches eight-tenths; tail one inch seven-tenths; extent of wings 13 inches. Inhabits Great Britain and France; flies high in search of food, not skimming near the ground. A gentleman informed Mr Pennant of the following fact relating to these animals, which he was witness to: That he saw taken under the eaves of Queen's College, Cambridge, in one night, 185; the second night, 63; the third night, 2; and that each that was measured had 15 inches extent of wings.

5. The murinus, common bat; has a tail; the lips and nose are simple; and the ears are smaller than the head. It inhabits Europe, and is found in Britain. This animal flies only during the night, living chiefly on moths; when it lights on the ground it is unable to rise again till it has crawled to some height: it remains torpid during win- Ves, ves

ter, revives in the beginning of the spring, and comes abroad in the dusk of the evening. This species is two inches and a half long, when full grown, and about nine inches in extent; the fur is of a mouse-colour, tinged with reddish; it generally skims near the ground, with an uneven jerking flight; and often seeking for gnats and other aquatic insects, flies close by the surface of water. It breeds in the summer season, and is preyed on by owls.

Bats are very voracious, if proper food is to be had; and though moths and other insects be their natural and common food, yet if flesh, whether raw or roasted, fresh or corrupted, comes in their way, they devour it with greediness. In this country they appear abroad early in spring, flying about only in the evenings; but are sometimes roused from their torpidity by a warm day or two during winter, and will then venture out in quest of food, but recommence their state of hibernation whenever the cold returns: They retire at the end of summer into caves, ruined houses, or the roofs and eaves of houses, where they remain suspended by the hind legs, and enveloped in their wings, generally in large numbers. Bats may be caught by means of the flower cups of burdock, whitened and thrown up in the way of their flight; they are attracted by the whiteness, and the hooks of the bur, sticking to their membranous wings, make them fall to the ground.