Hunters and Hunted 



The colouring of certain bats is peculiar. In general 

 they do not agree with the common colour scheme in 

 being lighter coloured below. Such colouring would be 

 of little advantage to them, for against the twilight sky 

 they could easily be seen from the ground in any case. 

 Being dark above, however, renders them more incon- 

 spicuous when viewed from above, with the earth as a 

 background, and this helps them in some degree to avoid 

 the attentions of night-flying owls. 



Usually bats have little to fear from enemies while they 

 are on the wing, so they do not need to assume protective 

 colouring. By day most of them lurk in dark caves and 

 other places which are badly illuminated, and their sombre 

 colours again come to their aid. Certain bats, however, 

 are peculiar in their resting-places ; instead of shunning 

 the light, they rest in exposed situations, so that some 

 sort of protective colouring is an essential. 



The plantain bat of India and Ceylon is such a creature ; 

 all the fur on the upper part of its head and body is light 

 orange, below its body is still lighter coloured, and its 

 wings are orange and black. On the wing it strangely 

 resembles a huge moth. By day this bat conceals itself 

 in the folded leaf of a plantain, and the bat so closely 

 resembles the ripe fruit of this plant that detection is 

 difficult. We should explain that in the countries which 

 the little animal inhabits the plantain fruits all the year 

 round, furthermore, the bat closely resembles the decaying 

 leaves of the plant. 



Another animal from the same countries, by name 

 Hodgson's bat, is also orange and black. This creature 

 frequents the evergreen longan-tree, whose decaying 

 leaves and fruit harmonise admirably with the animal 

 which hides among them. A West African bat has a 

 curious, and at present unexplained, colouring. Its wings 

 are white, but they only show during flight. At rest, 

 with folded wings, there is nothing peculiar about the 

 colouring of this animal. 



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