The thanks of the Editor are due to the various local contributors, and especially to Mr. E. de Hamel, late President of the Tamworth Natural History Society, for his kind co-operation in furnishing the chapter on Mammals and Reptiles. In strict order of classification, the division of Reptiles should have followed that of Birds, but for convenience in the present arrangement it has not been thought desirable to separate this chapter. CHAPTER I. Mammals and Reptiles. BY E. DE HAMEL. I.--MAMMALS. The district around Birmingham is admirably suited for our native animals, abounding as it does with fertile and well-watered valleys, wild moorlands, and extensive woods; on the other hand, its large population renders the prolonged existence of individual and striking rarities well-nigh impossible. The value of the matter contained in this chapter has been much enhanced by the personal observations of many of the best Midland naturalists. CHEIROPTERA. Adopting the late Professor Bell’s classification of British quadrupeds and reptiles, the Bats come first under consideration; and out of the fourteen species described by him, no fewer than nine are to be found in this district. The Noctule or Great Bat, _Scotophilus noctula_, is the largest of our British species, and is characterised by its lofty flight. There is a colony of these Bats in the roof of Cliff Hall, near Kingsbury, and another in a hollow of a lime tree in the Moat House Avenue, Tamworth. The Hairy-armed Bat, _S. Leisleri_, which has a zig-zag flight, occurs on the Warwickshire Avon. The Common Bat, or Flittermouse, _S. pipistrellus_, is often seen flying near buildings in broad daylight, and secretes itself in crevices. The Reddish-grey Bat, _Vespertilio nattereri_, is found in roofs of churches and similar buildings. Daubenton’s Bat, _V. Daubentonii_, flies close to the surface of water, and has been seen flying both at mid-day and dusk over the River Anker at Tamworth, and is abundant at Stratford-on-Avon; it hides in trees and buildings. The Whiskered Bat, _V. mystacinus_, frequents the sheltered side of high hedges, and secretes itself in any convenient chink. The Long-eared Bat, _Plecotus auritus_, possesses ears nearly as long as its head and body combined, and is generally distributed; it collects in clusters under tiled roofs and in church towers. The Barbastelle Bat, _Barbastellus Daubentonii_, is not uncommon in Warwickshire; it flutters lazily round moving objects, and hides in crevices. The last local species is the Lesser Horse-shoe Bat, _Rhinolophus hipposideros_, which is gregarious, and haunts roofs of houses; it is easily distinguished by its curious nasal appendage. INSECTIVORA.