BAT KIND. 239 



ed; and a foot long, from the tip of the nose 

 to the insertion of the tail. It resembles our 

 bat in the form of its wings, in its manner of 

 flying, and in its internal conformation. It dif- 

 fers from it in its enormous size ; in its colour, 

 which is red, like that of a fox ; in its head and 

 nose also, which resemble those of that animal, 

 and which have induced some to call it the 

 flying fox ; it differs also in the number of its 

 teeth, and in having a claw on the fore-foot, 

 which is wanting in ours. This formidable crea- 

 ture is found only in the ancient continent; parti- 

 cularly in Madagascar, along the coasts of Africa 

 and Malabar, where it is usually seen about the 

 size of a large hen. When they repose, they 

 stick themselves to the tops of the tallest trees, 

 and hang with their heads downward. But when 

 they are in motion, nothing can be more formid- 

 able ; they are seen in clouds, darkening the air, 

 as well by day as by night, destroying the ripe 

 fruits of the country, and sometimes settling 

 upon animals, and man himself; they devour, in- 

 discriminately, fruits, flesh, and insects, and drink 

 the juice of the palm tree ; they are heard at 

 night in the forests at more than two miles dis- 

 tance, with a horrible din, but at the approach 

 of day they usually begin to retire : nothing is 

 safe from their depredations ; they destroy fowls 

 and domestic animals, unless preserved with the 

 utmost care, and often fasten upon the inhabi- 

 tants themselves, attack them in the face, and in- 

 flict very terrible wounds. In short, as some 

 have already observed, the ancients seem to have 



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