194 Wild Life in a Southern County. 
Though a man is at work here so often, hammering 
and sawing, the birds come fearlessly to their young, 
and pick up the crumbs he leaves from his luncheon. 
Between the timber framework of the shed and 
the brickwork of the adjacent stable chinks have 
opened, and in these and in the chinks between the 
wooden lintel of the stable-door and the bricks above 
it the bats frequently hide, passing the day there, 
Others hide in the tiles of the roof where their nests 
are made. The labouring lads often amuse them- 
selves searching for these creatures, whose one object in 
daylight seems to be to cling to something; they will 
hang to’ the coat with the claws at the extremity of 
their membranous wings, and if left alone will creep 
out of sight into the pocket. There are two well- 
marked species of bats here—one small and the other 
much larger. 
The lesser bat flies nearer to the ground, and 
almost always follows the contour of some object or 
building. They hawk to and fro for hours in the 
evening under the eaves of the farmhouse, and fre- 
quently enter the great garrets and the still larger 
cheese-room (where the cheese is stored to mature)— | 
sometimes through the windows, and sometimes seem- 
ing to creep through holes made by sparrows or star- 
lings in the roof. Moths are probably the attraction ; 
of these there are generally plenty in and about old 
houses. Occasionally a bat will come into the sitting- 
room, should the doors be left open on a warm 
