The noctule is one of the largest of our more common British bats, to be compared with the greater horseshoe in point of size. We may see it flying strongly, high against the sunset, or we may find it at rest in the church tower, an old barn, or a hole in a tree, of course hitched up by its heels as is customary with bats, which prefer to hang head downwards. Its chief times of activity are at dusk and dawn for, like so many bats, it is largely vespertine in its habits. |