THE NICOBAR, MANED, JAPANESE, AND GREY FRUIT BATS.[149]
It will be unnecessary to do more than refer to a few of the numerous species of Pteropus inhabiting the islands of the Eastern seas, as their habits in all cases are almost exactly alike, and it would be useless to attempt the bare description of a number of closely-allied species. The Nicobar and Andaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal have their peculiar species (P. nicobaricus), about the same size as the Indian Fruit Bat, but of which the females and young males are usually black all over, whilst the male has a reddish or chestnut-coloured tippet. The Philippine Islands have a rather remarkable species, the Maned Fruit Bat (P. jubatus), the head of which is shown in one of our illustrations on the [next page]. Japan possesses a smaller form (P. dasymallus), about eight inches long, which is characterised by the woolly nature of its fur, as indicated in its specific name. Those islands of the Eastern Archipelago from Celebes to New Guinea and the Solomon Islands which, according to Mr. Wallace, belong to the great Australian region, are abundantly supplied with fruit-eating Bats, such as the Grey Fruit Bat (P. griseus, see [next page]), a small species which inhabits Timor and Amboyna. The small islands scattered over the ocean to the east also possess their peculiar species.
THE GREY-HEADED FRUIT BAT.[150]
The northern and eastern parts of Australia are inhabited by a large species of Pteropus, the Grey-headed Fruit Bat (P. poliocephalus). This Bat measures about a foot long, and has an expanse of wing of about three feet. The head, cheeks, and throat are ash-grey, with a few scattered black hairs; the nape, part of the front of the neck, and the shoulders are bright reddish-brown, and separated by a black band from the grey fur of the body. These Bats, according to Dr. Bennett, are found in great numbers about Moreton Bay and the northern districts of New South Wales. They could be observed “hanging in dense clusters from the uppermost branches of the lofty gum and other trees, which often bend so much under the weight, that the spectator is in momentary expectation of their breaking off with a crash, and falling to the ground encumbered with their heavy load of Bats.” The same observer remarks that, although their regular activity is crepuscular and nocturnal, they occasionally seek food for a short time during the day, and he adds when seen flying about the trees in the daytime they resemble rooks so closely as to have been frequently mistaken for those birds. Since the cultivation of fruit has been carried on extensively in New South Wales and Queensland, these Bats have been found to do a vast amount of injury to the plantations.
Mr. Gould, speaking of this Bat, says, “The enormous number that may be seen sleeping pendent from the trees in the more secluded parts of the forest are beyond conception. It is not surprising, therefore, that the settlers whose abodes may be in the neighbourhood of one of these colonies should find their peach-orchards devastated in a single night. Indeed, no one of the native animals is more troublesome to the settlers than this large Bat, which, resorting to the fruit-grounds by night, when it is impossible to protect them from its attacks, commits the most fearful havoc.” Like the Indian species, this Bat is exceedingly fond of the wild fig.
HEAD OF THE MANED FRUIT BAT.
HEAD OF THE GREY FRUIT BAT.