136 BOMBAY DUCKS 



After about two hours' constant vituperation and 

 fighting, things begin to quiet down a little. By this 

 time it is probably long past nine o'clock. The quiet 

 is, however, only relative ; throughout the day the 

 squabbling seems never to entirely cease ; the whole 

 colony appears to be in a state of stifled wrath, ready 

 to bubble forth at any moment. Some of the bats 

 seem to suffer from sleeplessness, and such individuals 

 take good care that their immediate neighbours shall 

 keep them company. A bat will suddenly, and without 

 any apparent provocation, attack its sleeping friend. 

 A fight of course ensues which, as likely as not, will 

 spread ; for a flying fox, like an Irishman, seems always 

 ready for a row. Such fights invariably end in two 

 or three individuals being jockeyed out of their places. 

 The bats thus evicted seek new roosting-stations, and 

 these become the centres of fresh squabbles. 



Perhaps about 4 p.m. is the quietest part of the 

 day ; for by this time the bats begin to realize that the 

 hour is at hand when they must be up and doing, so 

 that it is a case of " now or never " if they want any 

 sleep that day. The bat colony then looks like a 

 number of dried cocoanuts hanging from trees — cocoa- 

 nuts round the upper part of which a black membrane 

 has been wrapped. This appearance is due to the fact 

 that the wings and fur of a flying fox are not the same 

 colour. The former are almost black, while the fur 

 is of a reddish-brown hue. If the day be very hot, the 

 bats hang by one wing and fan themselves with the 

 other. 



While yet the sun is above the horizon the early- 



