10 Whitaker: Notes on the Habits of Bats. 
light haunts with absolute certainty until last summer. On 
the 12th of August, I9g1I, in company with Mr. Armitage, 
I was walking round Stainbrough Park, at dusk, when our 
attention was attracted by several bats which were skimming 
about over one of the smaller ponds. Their flight was if any- 
thing rather more rapid than that of Daubenton’s Bat, and they 
did not skim quite so close to the water’s surface as that creature 
usually does, flying at an average height of 12 or 18 inches 
above the water. They flew about in an erratic, zig-zag 
manner, but kept most persistently over the water, always 
turning as soon as they reached the side, except once or twice 
when they left the pond and made off in a straight line for 
another rather larger sheet of water near by. From these 
expeditions they returned in a few minutes, still skimming 
along fairly near to the ground. So much did the flight of. 
these bats resemble that of Daubenton’s that in spite of the 
slight differences I have pointed out we were not at all sure 
as we watched them whether they were of that species or not. 
In order to settle the point we borrowed a gun from a keeper’s 
house near by and my friend succeeded in dropping one of the 
bats into the pond. We had two dogs with us at the time 
but neither of these animals could by any means be persuaded 
to touch the bat, though they both swam out and sniffed at 
it many times. I contrived to drop a second bat into the water 
within easy reach of the side. We were eventually able to 
secure the first with the aid of a long branch. Upon examina- 
tion we found that we had two Natterer’s bats, both adult 
males. 
On the 15th of July, 1911, Mr. Armitage and I went to 
examine a colony of bats which we had been informed occu- 
pied the roof of a cottage at Stainbrough. From what we 
were able to learn this is a very old colony which has kept to 
the same den for many years. Unfortunately.there was no 
trap door in the bedroom ceiling of the cottage so that we were 
not able to get inside the roof where the bats had made their 
den. The bats only appeared to have one small entrance 
and exit hole, a little crack three or four inches long near the 
apex of the gable, and just under the edge of the slates. We 
decided to try and catch the bats as they came out for their 
evening’ flight. A hurried search round the neighbourhood 
for a ladder met with only partial success. The best three short 
ladders available when spliced together with the two best 
clothes lines procurable, answered our requirements so far as 
length was concerned, though in every other way they left 
very much to be desired. 
It was quite dusk and the first bats had begun to emerge 
before our preparations were fully completed. The bats came 
out fitfully, three or four in quick succession, then a pause 
Naturalist, 
