The
animal is so difficult to obtain alive, its place of retreat in
the daytime not being known to the natives, that I was unable to
procure a second living specimen.
Bats--The only other mammals that I shall mention are the bats,
which exist in very considerable numbers and variety in the
forest, as well as in the buildings of the villages. Many small
and curious species, living in the woods, conceal themselves by
day under the broad leaf-blades of Heliconiae and other plants
which grow in shady places; others cling to the trunks of trees.
While walking through the forest in the daytime, especially along
gloomy ravines, one is almost sure to startle bats from their
sleeping-places; and at night they are often seen in great
numbers flitting about the trees on the shady margins of narrow
channels. I captured altogether, without giving especial
attention to bats, sixteen different species at Ega.
The Vampire Bat.--The little grey blood-sucking Phyllostoma,
mentioned in a former chapter as found in my chamber at Caripi,
was not uncommon at Ega, where everyone believes it to visit
sleepers and bleed them in the night.
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