BOLAM : DAUBENTON’S BAT IN: NORTHUMBERLAND. 271 
one which was preserved, and at the time this specimen was put 
down as ‘probably the common species.’ Bats are very numerous 
there, and I suspect that those which hawk low over the river at 
dusk, five or six of them often following one another close together, 
will be found to be of this species, of which Bell (Brit. Quad.) 
says, ‘It flies rapidly and near the ground or over stagnant waters.’ 
I have, when fishing in the evenings, on the wooded banks of the 
Till, frequently knocked them into the water with my rod, and on 
more than one occasion have seen them hooked with the artificial 
fly. I do not remember, however, ever to have ‘landed’ one in 
this way, the reason being apparently that they were caught, not by 
the mouth, but by the hook coming in contact with the wings, from 
the delicate membrane of which it probably tore itself before the 
captive could be brought to hand. It must be mentioned, however, 
that the Pipistrelle has also a partiality for similar situations, and 
I have sometimes taken it also by the help ‘of my fishing-rod, as 
it skimmed past me over the: surface of a quiet pool. 
The fifteen above referred to were found in a large hole, in an 
old tree, on the banks of the Tweed, at New Water Haugh, near 
Berwick; and of these, eight were adults, the remainder being 
‘unfledged’ young ones. The hole had a very peculiar and disagree- 
able odour, and was ‘swarming with bats,’ there being two or three 
times as many as were brought home. The two which were preserved, 
were young ones, and died during the few days they remained in 
my possession ; the others were all taken back to the tree and set at 
liberty again. In confinement they exhibited little or no signs of 
shyness, and eat flies greedily when offered to them between the 
fingers, but, unlike the Pipistrelles which I have sometimes kept alive, 
and which always seemed to prefer pieces of raw flesh to insects, the 
Daubentons did not appear to care for such food. 
In addition to those already mentioned, I have, on at least two 
other occasions, taken bats in the district, which, although they were 
not preserved, I have no doubt, from a reference to my note-books, 
were really V. daubentonit. The first of these was on 12th June, 1883, 
when after a night’s mothing at Paxton House, near Berwick, one was 
found at rest upon the face of the policy wall, at the side of the 
Tweed ; the other was picked up in a benumbed condition, close to 
the water’s edge, on the banks of the Whitadder, near Edrington 
Castle, on 3rd February, 1888. Both of these occurrences are in 
Berwickshire. 
The Long-Eared Bat (Plecotus auritus) appears to be very 
generally distributed throughout the district, though it can hardly be 
called common, except perhaps in a few localities. Along the rocky 
Sept. 1892. : 
