3 o8 



Wild Life in Wales 



of a " nature lesson," in a large Liverpool school, it is 

 worthy of mention if only for the sake of driving a nail 

 into its coffin. 



We never saw more than one pair of the Long-eared Bats 

 together about the chimney above referred to, but there 

 must either have been more, or else the widowed lady must 

 quickly have procured another spouse, for two still remained 

 flying in company, and not very long afterwards (it was 

 in the middle of July) the children brought me a young 

 specimen, which they had found creeping about on the 

 road, near their house. This one was uninjured, and must, 

 I think, have been accidentally dropped by its parent when 

 flying with it. It was quite small, and unable to use its 

 wings, except as legs, and was covered with short silky hair 

 that clung close to the body. It climbed actively upon my 

 coat, or on the rough surface of the gable wall of the house, 

 and was liberated at dusk on the latter. It quickly crept 

 up out of reach of our hands, and was soon invisible in the 

 gathering gloom, and was never seen again ; but as one 

 anxious Bat was flying around, and was several times seen 

 almost to settle on the wall beside it (or where we judged 

 it to be), 1 have no doubt it was ultimately carried back 

 to the nest. The old Bat repeatedly squeaked, and the 

 children said they could hear the young one " replying to 

 it " ; it certainly opened its mouth frequently while held in 

 my hand, as though to emit some sound ; but if it did so, 

 its voice was too thin for my ear to catch. 



On the evening of loth April, a single Long-eared Bat 

 was noticed hawking over the birch woods above Craig-y- 

 Tan, in company with some Pipistrelles ; but, except on that 

 occasion, I never saw one amongst the mountains, or very 

 far away from the village. 



Daubenton's Bat was frequent round the lake, skimming 

 right over its surface, on fine summer nights, and picking 

 up, with great nimbleness, the large Sedge-flies that fluttered 

 there. Five or six Bats might sometimes be seen following 

 one another ; but more commonly, when on the feed, they 

 went "each on their own hook." When one chanced to 

 pass near me, it was generally easy enough to attract its 



