[Bechstein's Bat. Myotis kechsteini, Leisler.
BellVespertillo bechsteini.
On 10 March 1901, while exploring a chalk cave on the Berks side of the Thames, at Park Place near Henley, only about 1½ miles from the Bucks border, Messrs. Heatley Noble and J. G. Millais captured six bats. These comprised one long-eared bat, two Natterer's bats, two Daubenton's bats, and one which proved to be a Bechstein's bat.[1]
The first British examples of the species were taken a good many years ago in the New Forest, and are now in the British Museum ; about a dozen examples were found in the same locality by Mr. E. W. H. Blagg in July 1886, one of which was iden- tified by Mr. Oldfield Thomas ; and two examples were obtained at Preston near Brighton. [2]]
6. Natterer's Bat. Myotis nattereri, Kuhl.
BellVesfertlllo nattereri. The late Lord Lilford (Zoologist, 1887, p. 64) considered Natterer's bat ' very local,' but stated that it was ' by no means uncom- mon ' in his neighbourhood in Northampton- shire. There is no reason to doubt its occur- rence in Bucks, though I do not know of any specimen being actually obtained ; but as stated under the last species, two examples were obtained within 1½ miles of the borders of the county, on the Berks side of the Thames near Henley on 10 March 1901 ; and in the Zoologist, 1903, p. 349, this species is recorded from Turvey, Bedfordshire, less than a mile from the Bucks border near Ol- ney, where Mr. J.Steele-Elliott saw 'several' and obtained one ; also from Bloxham (about a dozen miles from Bucks) in Oxon, in which county Mr. O. V. Aplin says it ' does not seem to be very uncommon ' ; and from Milford, Surrey (near Godalming), where Mr. G. Dalgliesh obtained a single example.
7. Daubenton's Bat. Myotis daubentoni, Leisler.
BellVesperttllo daubentonii.
As with the last species, there is no reason to doubt that Daubenton's bat occurs in Bucks, though I do not know of any specimen having been actually identified ; but as men- tioned under Bechstein's bat, two examples were obtained on the Berks side of the Thames near Henley, about 1½ miles from the Bucks border, in March 1901. No doubt it is this species which one so commonly sees on the Thames, flying just above the surface of the water.
8. Whiskered Bat. Myotis mystacinus, Leisler.
Bell Vespertilio mystacinus.
The whiskered bat may be expected to occur sparingly in Bucks, but I regret that I am again with this species unable to speak with certainty. Bell records it in Northamp- tonshire and Warwickshire, and in Kent. Mr. O. V. Aplin obtained a single example at Bloxham in Oxfordshire in July 1901 (Zoologist, 1901, p. 315), and it has also been recorded from Godstow near Oxford.
Insectivora
9. Hedgehog. Erinaceus europieus, Linn.
Generally distributed and common. Usual food, beetles and worms ; but to some extent destructive to both eggs and young of game birds. That flesh is not their normal food however is shown by the loud champing noise and the slow progress made when eating any- thing of the kind. I once tamed a freshly- caught adult hedgehog in an hour by pouring beer into the concavity resulting from the folding of its two ends on to the underside, as it lay on its back, tightly curled up ; each time that it was forced to uncurl I handled it, and poured in more beer when it curled up again ; until after a few doses of beer alter- nating with handling, it became too intoxi- cated to curl up any more ! From that time forwards it always allowed me to handle it freely without rolling up. One only, out of the many I have kept, was ferocious, and if a finger was held out to him, he would at once fly at it and seize it, and allow himself to be held in the air for a long while before letting go. Hedgehogs are seldom abroad during the daytime, but are lively after dusk. Indeed the few that I have seen about in broad daylight appeared to be invalids, and swarming with fleas ; but whether the fleas were the cause or the effect of the indisposi- tion I cannot say. They lie up in hedge- bottoms, or any little hollow in a wood that is dry, and where they can hide under dead leaves or dry grass. Hedgehogs hibernate partially or imperfectly ; that is to say for un- certain periods, up to perhaps a month at a time. I have known hedgehogs breed in April ; also between mid August and mid September ; they are therefore either irregular in their breeding season, or more likely have two, or
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