Haunts of the Bat 157 



bolder mouse than common makes a desperate leap for it, 

 and succeeds in landing on the flat surface of the wooden 

 stopper. 



The shed has one small window only, which has no 

 glass, but is secured by an iron bar (he needs no larger 

 window, for all carpenters work with the door open) ; and 

 through this window a robin has entered and built a nest 

 in a quiet corner behind some timber. 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 themselves searching for these creatures, 

 whose one object in daylight seems to be to cling to some- 

 thing ; 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 frequently enter the great 

 garrets and the still larger cheese-room (where the cheese 

 is stored to mature) — sometimes through the windows, 

 and sometimes seeming to creep through holes made by 

 sparrows or starlings in the roof. Moths are probably the 

 attraction; of these there are generally plenty in and 



