THE TERNATE AND MADAGASCAR BAT. 183 



mouth, hovering and concealing its head, in the manner of birds 

 of prey, when they feed. Insects seemed to constitute its favour- 

 ite food, though it would accept raw flesh when offered. Our 

 author saw it repeatedly confute the vulgar opinion, that bats, 

 when on a plain surface, cannot easily get on the wing again. 

 It sometimes ran with tolerable despatch, but in a most grotesque 

 and ridiculous manner. 



Among the numerous varieties of this singular animal, are 

 enumerated, the long-eared bat, the noctule, the pepistrelle, the 

 balbastelle, the serotine, the horse-shoe bat, and a number of 

 others. These we shall pass over in silence, as in this, like a 

 multitude of other cases, it is scarcely possible to follow Nature 

 in all her multiplied variety of forms. 



All the bats known in Europe, are perfectly inoffensive ; but 

 in the tropical climates, they not only grow to a large size, but 

 are of a more formidable nature. We shall give a concise de- 

 scription of two of the most remarkable species. 



THE GREAT BAT OF TERNATE AND 

 MADAGASCAR, 



Is about a foot long, and four feet in breadth, when its wings 

 are expanded. It has large canine teeth, and the tongue point- 

 ed : its nose is sharp, and its ears are large and naked. It has 

 five toes on the hind-feet, armed with strong hooked claws : it 

 has no tail, and its general colour is a dusky brown. 



These formidable creatures are extremely voracious, and 

 sometimes assemble in such prodigious flocks as to darken the 

 air; devouring indiscriminately every kind both of vegetable and 

 animal food that lies in their way. Buffon imagines, that the an- 

 cients borrowed from these creatures, their ideas of the harpies, 

 and it must be acknowledged, that they correspond almost exactly 

 with the description given by the poets, of those fabulous monsters; 

 but that the ancients were acquainted with these animals, or with 

 the countries where they are found, is extremely problematical. 

 Like the fabulous harpies, their figure is uncouth, and their dis- 

 position fierce and voracious. A hundred or two of them may 

 sometimes be seen hanging on a tree, with their head downward, 

 and their wings folded, in which manner they repose during the 

 day ; but in the night they make a horrible noise in the forests. 

 When young, they are eaten by the inhabitants of the countries 

 where they are found, and are esteemed excellent food. 



This animal, to which Buffon gives the appellation of the 

 Roussette, abounds in Madagascar and Ternate. It is also a 

 native of Guinea, and, according to Captain Cook, and other 

 discoverers, is found in most of the islands of the South Sea. 



