The Flying 1 Fox. 
(PTEROPUS POLIOCEPBALU S.) 
Twenty-five species of Bats are known to inhabit Australia, five of which are Fruit Bats, or “ Flying Foxes.” The 
last-mentioned animals have not yet been found in any other part, except on the east coast, where they range from 
Cape Howe to Cape York. The figure represents the most common one — the grey-headed Fruit Bat, or “ Flying Fox,” 
which is peculiar to the New' South Wales coast districts. 
The food on which the “Foxes” principally rely, when garden fruit is not in season, consists of honey-bearing 
blossoms, and the small native figs, abounding in the coast-range scrubs. They pass the day suspended from the 
branches of gigantic fig-trees, as shown in our figure, and in this position they feed. The number of these creatures is 
almost incredible : they' swing in clusters and festoons, like swarms of bees, holding on one to the other, and the weight 
of their bodies frequently brings down great limbs, killing many, but not appreciably diminishing them. Thousands may 
be noticed, at dusk, silently winging their way to some orchard, which they invade in spite of the farmers’ guns, and 
destroy' more fruit than they eat. The ground is strewn in the morning with bushels of half-devoured fruit, because they 
are rather dainty, and drop every pear or peach they have tasted, if it is not sufficiently sweet. The “Foxes” appear 
only during certain seasons in the cultivated districts, and after a few weeks’ sojourn retire to the mountain forests. 
During this period they select a regular camping-ground, where the day is spent ; and when such a place is discovered, 
a general battue takes place and they are killed in large numbers. These Bats are found on the east coast only, but 
during very dry seasons they occur as far w r est as the neighbourhood of Melbourne. The vegetation on the plains of 
the interior does not appear to suit them, as they are seldom seen west of the coast range. 
The general colour is a glossy, grizzly black, with the exception of a broad rusty-red collar, covering the back 
of the head, neck, breast, and shoulders ; the face is light grey ; the ears and wing-membrane are black. 
The skull is thin, almost transparent, and very light, as in all animals formed for flight ; it is provided with 
very powerful canine teeth, which are grooved, and differ in this respect from the smooth canines of real carnivorous 
animals. It is highly probable that the Flying Fox is able to subsist on insects as well as on fruit. Too little, however, 
is known of the economy of these animals to prove this ; they are observed only when fruit is plentiful, and how' they 
subsist in the dense mountain forests can only be conjectured. The fruit of the fig-trees, and some sweet blossoms, 
must form their principal food at that time. The dentition consists of incisors — canines — , premolars . molar= — 
3-2 r— X r 2 2 
— 34 teeth. The number of young seldom exceeds one at a birth. 
The name of Vampire Bat has been given to this fruit-eating animal, and many dismal tales of its blood-sucking 
propensities have been rife among the ignorant, but there is of course not a grain of truth in these statements. The 
largest species occurs in the island of Java, where it is knowm by the name of “Kalong,” and is much esteemed as an 
article of food, The flesh of our “Flying Foxes” has been represented to be palatable food; it is necessary', however, 
to steep the males for some hours in vinegar, to take away any unpleasant smell. The following table wall show the 
number of Bats and their habitat in Australia : — 
FAMILY OF BATS. 
Cheir6ptera. 
(a.) Fruit-eating Bats, Kalongs or “ Flying Foxes”: — 
Common Flying Fox. Pteropus poliocephalus. Brushes of New South Wales. 
Spectacled Kalong. Pteropus conspicillatus. North Australia. 
Funeral Kalong. Pteropus funereus. North Australia. 
Cape York Kalong. Pteropus scapulatus. Cape York. 
Dwarf Kalong. Petalia. (?) North-east Coast. (Not larger than a common Bat.) 
