1917.] 



Lang and Chapin, Field Notes on African Chiroptera. 



501 



Strange to say, experience taught us that very few Europeans knew that 

 they were listening to a bat, since this high-pitched musical sound with its 

 continuous effort seems to be emitted rather by a bird than a mammal. 

 Standing on the deck of a steamer that had tied up for the night at one of 

 the islands in midstream below Bumba, we heard them for the first time, 

 and for our part were greatly perplexed. Finally we felt content to ascribe 

 these strange sounds to some night bird, especially as the natives and white 

 men of long experience in the Congo confirmed our belief. Questioning 

 the natives is to little purpose, for they consider bats to be birds, and will 

 simply reply that it is a bird of the night and eats fruit. 



The voice of Epomops franqueti franqueti is more nasal than that of 

 Hypsignathus and when heard at short range might be written kurnk! or 

 kyurnk!, but at a distance it has a whistled effect, almost musical, being 

 repeated slowly with intervals of f to 1 second, and often for many 

 minutes without a break. Only the adult males, as in Hypsignathus, have 

 a large ossified larynx and they alone produce this weird, curious call. 

 Though several of them may be heard simultaneously, these bats are hardly 

 gregarious and when calling are usually far apart. They are very shy, 

 and become silent at once when approached. More often they fly off 

 quietly, recommencing their solo at some distance. 



During the daytime when frightened from their retreats in the dense* 

 undergrowth of the forest, only one or two are usually seen at a time. This 

 fruit-bat often visited the post at Avakubi to steal guavas, frequently carry- 

 ing them, before eating, to a more suitable perch, sometimes into mango- 

 trees or even out to an island in the Ituri River, about 200 yards away. 

 Traces of their meal — parts of the seed-filled pulp, or half -eaten fruits — 

 could often be seen in such places lying about the ground. Wild figs were 

 likewise eaten but the presence of these bats near villages has probably 

 much to do with their liking for ripe bananas, which they often find in neg- 

 lected gardens. Undoubtedly they are keen of scent, for they come without 

 fail to bunches of mellow bananas fastened beneath an overhanging roof 

 where they could not possibly be discovered by sight. The peculiar strong 

 fragrance of this fruit offers the only explanation of their success in 

 this respect. At Avakubi, Medje, and Niapu they regularly fed on our 

 bananas, pulling down many more than they ate. In a native village near 

 Niapu several of them came together. One night a female was caught 

 by the wing in a rat-trap set purposely. She made a hoarse snarling noise, 

 flapping about desperately; but the others, so wary otherwise, did not mind 

 this in the least and kept on feeding. Two of them were taken in lighted 

 rooms, evidently attracted by the ripened fruit in the house. 



We have observed this species everywhere in the Ituri district, as far 



