of Birmingham; 1 this is probably the northern limit of its range in Britain.
A Serotine from Tintagel, in Cornwall, is recorded in Dobson’s * Catalogue of
Chiroptera in the British Museum.’
The Bat which figured in the Newcastle-on-Tyne Must;;.-:-, catalogue as a
Serotine was examined by Mr. W. D. Roebuck, and proved to W as suggested
by Mr. Harting, a Noctule. The species does not appear to <*,«ur in Wales,
Scotland, or Ireland.
Habits.— The Serotine, a Bat which was first described by in
1759, is crepuscular in its habits, emerging on fine evenings rathe; .. uo than
many other species ; in June and July it does not come forth until a id ik before
nine. In many of its habits the Serotine resembles the Noctule, but it» tllfh t is
different, being more fluttering and uncertain. It may be distinguished m the
wing by the fact that the tips of the wings are more pointed than in the Noctule.
Like the Noctule it does not always fly in the same way : Mr. Ear dk y Hall says
that it nearly always flies with a fluttering, uncertain flight, keeping very low
down; but Colonel Reid tells me that in the neighbourhood of '/aiding he has
seen it, on fine evenings, flying at a great altitude. According to my experience
low, hovering above the bushes and the outer branches of trees in order to catch
moths, but as the light fades, it mounts higher and higher, until, just before
darkness sets in, it has ascended far above gunshot. It is not easy to . account
alteration of altitude, which is, certainly sometimes, reversed in the c
octule; but it may be that the Bat ascends to feed upon certain hit
-appearing insects, or perhaps the insects upon which it feed* a
eend themselves when the light fades. The manner of flight
that of the Noctule that we can hardly draw a par:;!M dat 1
not often rise to a great height gradually, but r ' •>- ■ v -after
' down the glade near its retreat, an altitude & fyam-.-fpif. OT
ion of as many yards or more.
» to both species is a sndds&. d
be caused by the d&m.
for this
of the N
flying an
low altitude
different froi
latter Bat d
beat or two up and doi
mounts rapidly to m «
A characteristic @0
dive during flight; tht
flying below them, or ii
flight This ‘ header’
Noctule; in the former
Grabham, writing to th<
sMmhva.and headlong
^ SW6 prey which is
wonderful power of
urn Serotine than in the
#*e»tly repeated. Mr. Oxley
ays that he has shot a Serotine