Night flier on the staff (5)

I believe the answer is:

baton

'the staff' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'night flier on' is the wordplay.
'night flier' becomes 'bat' (I've seen this before).
'bat'+'on'='BATON'

(Other definitions for baton that I've seen before include "A conductor wields it - or a policemen" , "Conductor's wand" , "Controller of players" , "weapon" , "Short rod (that can be passed!)" .)

I've seen this clue in The Globe and Mail.

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