MAMMALS 3. Long-eared Bat. Plecotiis auritus, Linn. Common throughout the county. 4. Barbastelle. Barbastella barbastellus, Schreber. Bell — Barbastellus daubentonii. This bat was first discovered in our islands at Dartford in Kent, and subsequently taken in a chalk cave at Chislehurst.' There is a specimen in Maidstone Museum from Ming- ton, presented by H. G. T. Drake, dated September 1898, and another Kentish speci- men preserved in spirit. 5. Serotine. Vespertilio serotinus, Schreber. Bell — Scotophilus serotinus. Several times reported. Taken at Folke- stone (Lydekker), and Mr. H. Elgar, assistant curator of Maidstone Museum, informs the writer that it is plentiful at Yalding. It is often mistaken for the noctule, and is probably more common than is supposed. 6. Great or White's Bat (Noctule). Pipi- strellus, Schreber. Bell — Scotophilus noctula. White — Vespertilis altivolans. Seen frequently in the county. Mr. George Dowker ^ records that at Stourmouth (near Canterbury) in April 1884 several of these bats were turned out from the rotten branch of a walnut tree, where they had been hiber- nating. All were males, and each measured 14 in. in the expanse of its wings. They were captured alive and kept in a cage, but soon after died, for they all refused food. A large number of these hibernate each winter in Mr. Dowker's house (at Stourbridge), emerging from their winter courses about the middle of May. He counted fifty-six noc- tules emerging from winter quarters on 17 May, 1889, at 8 o'clock in the morning. On the following evening about forty were counted. Three of these were shot, and proved to be females, and their expanded wings each measured 14 in. 7. Pipistrelle or Common Bat. Pipistrellus pipistrellus, Schreber. Bell — Scotophilus pipistrellus. This small bat is very common. 8. Natterer's Bat. Myotis nattereri, Kuhl. Bell — Vespertilio nattereri. Bell recorded this from Kent, and Mr. Dowker says it has been taken from Chisle- hurst and Tonbridge. There is a very old specimen from Simmons in Maidstone Museum. 9. Daubenton's Bat. Myotis daubentoni, Leisler. Bell — Vespertilic daubentonii. Mr. Dowker mentions^ that it has been recorded from Dover. 10. Whiskered Bat. Myotis mystacinus, Leis- ler. Bell — Vespertilio mystacinus. Recorded by Bell from Chislehurst. It is possible that it is often mistaken for the pipistrelle. INSECTIVORA 1 1 . Hedgehog. Erinaceus europtsiis, Linn. This animal is very common throughout the county. There is no doubt that it is an egg stealer, for it can be caught with an egg as a bait. It has the peculiar habit of taking one or two eggs each night from a nest, sometimes from under the hen, unlike most other robbers, which destroy a whole clutch at a time. These destructive habits make it an enemy to the gamekeeper ; but the good it does on the land as an insect eater goes far to outweigh them. 12. Mole. Talpa europaa, Linn. Common in woods and field alike. Un- doubtedly these animals do an incalculable amount of good by destroying injurious ground pests such as the wireworm. If mole > Lydekker, British Mammals, 1895. » South-Eastern Naturalist, i. 1891. heaps are seen in a field, there is evidence that the destructive larvas are abundant. 13. Common Shrew. Sorex araneuSjhinn. Very common. 14. Pigmy Shrew. Sorex minutus, Pallas. Bell — Sorex pygmasus. This tiny mammal is getting rare. It very often escapes notice, but it has been seen in the leaves under the hornbeam trees on the Cobham Hall estate. Its gradual extinction may perhaps be accounted for by the preser- vation of the owl, which is now generally free from persecution. 15. Water Shrew. Neomys fodiens,'P3ilhs. Bell — Crossopus fodiens. Distributed through the county, but does not seem to be abundant. There are two specimens in the Maidstone Museum, s Ibid. 303
