BATS 



in splendid style. As the shadows deepened 

 over the pool other bats came out. A number 

 of swift-flying bats skimmed low along the 

 surface of the water, which they frequently 

 dipped into like swallows on a summer after- 

 noon. 1 Near the shore little flitter-mice flut- 

 tered up and down, and shapes that appeared 

 and disappeared among the trees that over- 

 hung the water were certainly long-eared bats. 

 But the flight did not last long; by 10.55 the 

 noctules were getting less, and in a little while 

 had all gone. The little pipistrelles were left 

 last, for these small bats stay longer on the 

 wing than the big ones, and sometimes even 

 stay out all night when other bats are resting 

 to be ready for the morning's hunting. It was 

 a wonderful sight to see all these bats flying 

 about together ; and the pool in the twilight, 

 backed with the shadowy purple woods, re- 

 flecting the crimson sunset dyed sky, with the 

 hosts of first swifts and then bats turning 

 and wheeling against it, was a thing to 

 remember. 



I have already said that there are no less 

 than twelve different kinds of bats in this 

 country. Perhaps the strangest looking are 



1 Almost certainly Daubenton's Bat, a water-loving species. 



21 



