364 7^2 Hijlory of A N I M A L S.

two teats, and the young are produced two at a birth; the parent, while they are un-able to take care of themselves, flies about with them, adhering to her body.

This is Common in all parts of Europe ; we have it about churches, and other oldbuildings, in great abundance. It hides itself, during the day, and flutters about inthe evening, preying on moths and other infests. All the writers on animals have de-scribed it; they call it Vespertilio, and Vefpertilio vulgaris; we the Bat and the Flit—ter-mouse.

Vespertilio cauda nulla.

"The Vzspertilio , without a tail.

The Eagle Sat.

The size and fierceness of this species have obtained it the addition of eagle to it’sname; it is a very Angular and formidable animal : the body is twenty inches long,and considerably thick, in proportion ; and, when the wings are expanded, it is notsmaller in appearance than the bird from which it is named : the head is large, ofan oblong figure, and obtuse; the ears are short and patulous, erect, and covered witha very fine down : the eyes are large, black, and prominent: the mouth is large, andwell furnished with teeth; the neck is so short, that the head seems set on imme-diately to the shoulders; the body is thick and fleshy, there is no tail : the slenderlegs are moderately long and fleshy, and the fore-ones are expanded into a kind ofleathery wings meeting over the back, and, when open, of a most surprising expanse:the back is covered with a tolerable long fur; the belly with a shorter: that of theback is of a dusky and disagreeable dun colour, that of the belly is paler.

This is a native of the East and West Indies; it lives in caverns of the mountains,and often terrifies people by it’s fluttering in a strange manner. Many authors havementioned a bat of this enormous size, but few have described, or even named it, insuch a manner, as to convey an idea of it’s distinctions.

V fpertilio caudatus labiosuperiore bifido.

The tailed V fpertilio , with the upper lip bifid.

This is a very large species, but not nearly equal to the preceding in that respect :the head is of an oval figure, large at the crown, and smaller at the nose, but obtusethere : the ears are large and erect, but not very high, in proportion to their expanse :the eyes are large, prominent, and black; the mouth is wide, and furnished withstrong and sharp teeth; the upper lip is divided in the manner of that of the hare:the neck is very short, the shoulders are large; the back is broad and flat; the wholebody is corpulent, but the tail is moderately long, and the hinder legs are robust ; thewings formed of the fore-pair are very broad, and of a bluish colour: the whole bo-dy is covered with a soft and fine down, of a deep lead colour; sometimes there havebeen seen some of them white, but that is accidental and uncommon. c

This is a native of South America , and is frequent in caves, and other dark andretired places. Some of the writers on animals have called it Vespertilio cato similis.The same writers have called the preceding species also Canis volans, but these are ar-bitrary names, and expressive of nothing, except faintly of the size.

Vefipertilio caudatus nafio foliato acuminato.

The tailed V 2 'fpertilio , with a foliated , acuminated nose.

This is larger than the common bat, but it does not approach to either of the twoformer in size : the head is of a singular figure, oblong, depressed, and acuminated atthe nose : the crown is large and flatted ; the front is less depressed, and the extremi-ty at the mouth is sharp and foliated; the ears are short, erect, and patulous; theeyes are small, but they are prominent; the mouth is wide, and well furnished withteeth : the neck is very short and thick; the body is broad and flatted ; the tail is

short,