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Bulletin American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XXXVII, 



At Avakubi, November 19, 1909, a flock of perhaps 100 had taken 

 shelter for the day beneath the limb of a large tree, some 60 feet above 

 the ground, where they were shaded by a mass of epiphytic ferns and 

 orchids, and formed one great squirming mass. Ever and again one seemed 

 to lose its hold in the crowd, took wing, and hooked itself up anew. All the 

 while they kept up a chorus of snarling and scolding noises that could be 

 heard a hundred yards away. This led to their discovery. 



After watching their amusing struggles for a while, we fired both barrels 

 of a gun into their midst. We were standing almost directly beneath, and 

 for a few seconds it simply rained bats, dead or wounded. The latter 

 immediately began to make off through the grass, but were hunted down 

 by the blacks, who picked them up with caution, for they scratched and bit 

 savagely, often uttering a harsh nasal cry. Thirty-seven specimens were 

 secured. Of the survivors, only about a dozen returned to the same branch, 

 the others seeking refuge somewhere else, for all these fruit-bats fly well 

 during daylight. 



A flock passing over the He Berthe near Stanleyville on the evening of 

 August 2, 1909, was estimated, as we watched them for a quarter of an hour, 

 to number from 1000 to 1500. They flew in a westerly direction. 



From August, 1913, to September, 1914, Chapin remained in the region 

 about Avakubi and took a special interest in the seasonal vagrancies of these 

 bats. He not only kept a very careful watch during his customary strolls 

 but also collected many bats to verify his observations, of which the follow- 

 ing is a summary. 



Until early September (9th) none were noticed, but from that time on for 

 about three weeks hundreds went flying over almost every evening, travel- 

 ing in a southwesterly direction. 



No more were observed until early in May, 1914, when many of them 

 began to come flying across the Ituri River and over the post, from the 

 northwest. Though they would pass at only 20 yards above the fruit trees 

 that were being plundered just then by Hypsignathus, they evinced no inter- 

 est in the guavas. During the rest of May and until about June 10, they 

 passed regularly in large numbers in a southwesterly direction. After 

 that they seemed to have established themselves in the region, for they 

 were seen flapping about in more aimless fashion and alighting in trees. 

 On June 5 a restless flock of 20 were found during the afternoon in a rubber 

 tree. When approached they climbed about in their usual noisy and nervous 

 manner, using the claws of both wings and feet, but finally took wing. 



Though they were apparently resident at Avakubi in July, migratory 

 flights towards the southeast took place again on the 2d and 4th. In 

 August they had disappeared once more. 



