268 
NATURAL HISTORY. 
Bees or Midges. After these recreations, they hurry back to their favourite trees, chattering and 
screaming like Monkeys, and always wrangling and contending angrily for the most shady and com- 
fortable places in which to hang for the rest of the day protected from the sun. The branches they 
resort to soon become almost divested of leaves, these being stripped off by the action of the Bats 
attaching and detaching themselves by means of their hooked feet. At sunset they fly off to tlieir 
feeding-grounds, probably at a considerable distance, as it requires a large area to furnish sufficient 
food for such multitudes. 
“ In all its movements and attitudes, the action of the Pteropus is highly interesting. If placed 
upon the ground, it is almost helpless, none of its limbs being calculated for progressive motion ; it 
drags itself along by means of the hook attached to each of its extended thumbs, pushing at the 
same time with those of its hind feet. Its natural position is exclusively pensile ; it moves laterally from 
branch to branch with great ease, by using each foot alternately, and climbs, when necessary, by means, 
of its claws. 
“ When at rest or asleep, the disposition of the limbs is most curious. At such times it suspends 
itself by one foot only, bringing the other close 10 its side, and thus it. is enabled to wrap itself in 
the ample folds of its wings, which must envelop it like a mantle, leaving only its upturned head 
uncovered. Its fur is thus protected from damp and rain, and to some extent its body is sheltered 
from the sun. 
“ As it collects its food by means of its mouth, either when on the wing or when suspended 
within reach of it, the Flying Fox is always more or less liable to have the spoil wrested from it by its 
intrusive companions, before it can make good its way to some secure retreat in which to devour it 
unmolested. In such conflicts they bite viciously, tear each other with their hooks, and scream 
incessantly, till, taking to flight, the persecuted one reaches some place of safety, when he hangs by one 
foot, and grasping the fruit he has secured in the claws and opposable thumb of the other, he hastily 
reduces it to lumps, with which lie stuffs his cheek-pouches till they become distended like those of a 
Monkey. Thus suspended in safety, he commences to chew and suck the pieces, rejecting the refuse 
with his tongue.” Sir James Emerson Tennent adds that the Flying Fox drinks by lapping, to do 
which it suspends itself head downwards from a branch above the water. 
The flight of the Pteropidie is strong and direct, although not very rapid, and they often 
travel considerable distances in search of favourite articles of food. During flight the hind legs are 
usually stretched out horizontally, and as the space between them is not, as in most other Bats, filled 
up by an in ter femoral membrane, the animals appear as if they had two stiff tails. Their skin exhales 
a peculiar odour, which has been sometimes described as “ musky,” although the term is hardly 
applicable to it. This odour, which is supposed to be due to the contamination of the fur with the 
urine of the animals, strongly pervades tlieir dwelling-places, and unless great care is taken in skinning 
them their flesh is said to acquire a corresponding taste, which is a matter of some importance, as the 
larger species constitute a favourite article of food in the countries which they inhabit. 
That the ancients were acquainted with some species of these Bats seems pretty certain, as 
one of them (JJynonycter'ls cagyptiacus) is common in Egypt, and, in fact, is frequently represented 
on the monuments of that country (see the engraving on the next page), and Aristotle refers to a 
tail-less African Bat, which was probably a Flying Fox. The town of Borsippa, in Mesopotamia, is 
mentioned by Strabo as being haunted by Bats of larger size than any of those known in Europe ; 
and, indeed, that it was so haunted, and that the inhabitants ate these Bats, is nearly all that is 
definitely known of the town. The species was in all probability either the Egyptian one just 
referred to, or a nearly allied form ( Cynonycteris amplexicaudata ), which is known still to inhabit 
Persia. The Mosaic prohibition of the Bat as an article of food to the Jews also no doubt related 
to one of these species, which may have been commonly eaten in Egypt or in Syria. 
Formerly it was considered a matter of considerable difficulty to keep these Frugivorous Bats 
alive in captivity, and especially to transport them to Europe ; but the latter difficulty has dis- 
appeared with increased facilities of locomotion, and several species have been exhibited alive in 
various menageries and zoological gardens. At the present moment the collection in Regent's Park 
of the Zoological Society of London contains examples of two species, namely, the Common Indian 
Fruit Bat (Pteropus viedivs) and the Collared Fruit Bat of South Africa ( Cynonycteris coUaris ). 
