Brad the bachelor bat hangs out at Patumahoe home near Pukekohe

A long-tailed bat - measuring just the size of a thumb and weighing around 10g - was found this week settled in the corner of a verandah in a property at Patumahoe. Photo / Auckland Council

Auckland Council rangers have been "gobsmacked" to find a rare native bat that decided to hang out at home in a Patumahoe.

A long-tailed bat - measuring just the size of a thumb and weighing around 10g - was found this week settled in the corner of a veranda in a property in the rural settlement, near Pukekohe.

Rangers dubbed it "Brad the bachelor" as the species are usually known to roost in trees, among colonies typically numbering from 10 to 50.

Auckland Council senior biodiversity advisor, Ben "the batman" Paris said the team was curious and hopeful about Brad's presence.

The long-tailed bat population is nationally critical - the same conservation status as our rarest birds - due to predators and deforestation. Photo / Auckland Council

The long-tailed bat population is nationally critical - the same conservation status as our rarest birds - due to predators and deforestation, so Aucklanders were lucky to get a glimpse of a bat – let alone have one tucked under their eaves.

"It's incredibly rare to observe this," he said.

"We're all a bit gobsmacked."

Paris surmised Brad could be a juvenile male who got kicked out of a maternal roost and hadn't joined up with a male roost for breeding season yet.

"This goes to show that the predator control that Whakaupoko Landcare has carried out in the area is having a positive impact on our indigenous biodiversity," he said.

"The great community-led pest-control work that has been undertaken as part of Pest Free Auckland is paying dividends."