256 BATS 



a steady purpose. I observed them, not only on one, but on both sides of the river. 

 But in the Botanical Gardens I noticed that, whilst the great mass of bats passed 

 on, a few were attracted by trees then in fruit, and seemed to go no further. This 

 continued for a number of successive nights, but I did not observe the bats return- 

 ing. ' ' What occasioned these enormous assemblages has not yet been explained. 



This species of fruit-bat has an expanse of wing of about four feet from tip to 

 tip ; and it is found throughout the whole of India, Ceylon, and Burma. In the 

 Andaman and Nicobar islands in the Bay of Bengal, it is, however, replaced by a 

 species (P. nicobaricus) of nearly the same dimensions, but readily distinguished by 

 its rounded ears. 



The largest of all fox-bats, and consequently of all bats, is, however, the 

 kalong or Malay fox-bat (/*. edulis), represented in the figure on p. 254, which 

 measures upwards of five feet from tip to tip of the wings, and derives its name 

 from its flesh being eaten by the Malays, as, indeed, is that of its Indian cousin by 

 some of the natives of that country. Writing of the Malay species, Mr. Wallace 

 states that they are considered a great delicacy by the natives, and are much sought 

 after. "At about the beginning of the year they come [to Batchian] in large flocks 

 to eat fruit, and congregate, during the day, on some islands in the bay, hanging 

 by thousands on the trees, especially on the dead ones. They can then be easily 

 caught or knocked down with sticks, and are brought home in basketfuls. They 

 require to be carefully prepared, as the skin and fur have a rank and powerful foxy 

 odor ; but they are generally cooked with abundance of spices and condiments, and 

 are really very good eating, something like hare." 



Of the Australian fruit-bat (P. poliocephalus) the late Professor Moseley 

 describes a roosting-place which he visited in New South Wales in the following 

 words: "In a dense piece of bush, consisting principally of young trees, the trees 

 were hung all over with these bats, looking like great black fruits. As we ap- 

 proached, the bats showed signs of uneasiness, and after the first shot were rather 

 difficult to approach, moving from before us, and pitching in a fresh tree some 

 distance ahead. The bats uttered a curious cackling sound when disturbed. They 

 were in enormous numbers, and although thousands had been shot not long before 

 by a large party got together for the purpose, their numbers were not perceptibly 

 reduced. They do great harm to the fruit orchards about Parramatta, and the fruit- 

 growers there organize parties to shoot them. ' ' 



The same observer also records that certain species of fruit-bats, which he met 

 with in the Friendly islands and in New South Wales, are in the habit of devouring 

 flowers as well #s fruits. The particular species observed in the Friendly islands 

 was doubtless the Polynesian fruit-bat {P. kerandrenii ) , which is found in most of 

 the islands in that region. "These bats," writes Professor Moseley, "appear on 

 the wing in the early afternoon in full sunlight, and at the time of our visit were 

 feeding on the bright red flowers of one of the indigenous trees. Flowers form an 

 important proportion of the food of fruit-bats. In New South Wales, in Botany 

 bay, in May, numbers of fruit-bats were to be seen feeding on the flowers of the 

 gum trees. The bats most probably often act as fertilizers by carrying pollen from 

 tree to tree adherent to their fur. As dark comes on the fruit-bats become more 



