'54 



BATS. 



''■ during the day tliej- roost on trees, generalh- in large colonies, many hundreds 

 often occupying a single tree, to which they invariably resort if not driven away. 

 Towards sunset thej" begin to get restless, move about along the branches, and 

 by ones and twos fly off for their nightlj' rounds. If water is at hand, a tank, 

 or a river, or the sea, they fly cautiousl}^ down and touch the water, but I could 

 not ascertain if they took a sip, or merely dipped part of their bodies in. They 



THE KjVLOXG, or MALVT FOX-BAT (J uat. size.) 



fly vast distances occasionally to such trees as happen to be in fruit." As the 

 iirst streaks of da-mi begin to appear in the east the bats set out on their home- 

 ward journey from the field of their depredations, and the scene which ensues on 

 their ari'ival at their roosting-place is graphicallj- described by Colonel Tickell : — 

 " From the arrival of the first comer, until the sun is high above the horizon, a 

 scene of incessant wrangling and contention is enacted among them, as each 

 endeavoure to secure a higher and better place, or to eject a neighbour from too 

 close vicinage. In these struggles the bats hook themselves along the branches, 



