eyes usually
seen in animals whose activity is nocturnal."

Nevertheless bats are not dependent upon their eyesight for a means of
getting about in the dark. They are able to fly with great speed and
accuracy, to avoid obstacles, and to enter small holes without making
the least mistake. Experiments have shown that this singular power of
direction is due to a remarkable development of the sense of touch
especially to be found in their great expanse of wing. Further, these
animals possess large ears and curious nostrils, some of which are
leaf-like formations of the most extraordinary description. These skin
growths are all supposed to have reference to the skill with which the
creatures wing their way in the darkest caves.

As regards diet their wants are simple. Most bats feed on insects which
they catch on the wing; some of them eat fruit; and a few enjoy a bad
name because they suck the blood of other animals. Of these last are the
so-called vampire bats, respecting which it used to be said that they
fanned their victim with their wings while they sucked its life's blood.
Though it is quite true that horses and cattle in South America are
attacked by some bats, this hideous tale is altogether fabulous.

In considering the habits of these queer beings we shall confine
ourselves to the fruit-eaters, to which the bats in the Zoo belong. In
their native haunts the flying foxes, as they are called, are terribly
destructive creatures. In Ceylon they hang upon some trees in such
numbers that the branches often give way beneath their weight. While
hovering round the trees stripping them of their fruit, the beating of
their broad wings creates quite a hum. In the forenoon they take a
"constitutional," just for a little exercise, and to air and dry their
fur after the dews of the early morning. Then they return to the
shadiest nook they can find till nightfall. Sometimes an attempt is made
by its fellows to plunder a bat before it can manage to retire to a safe
and snug retreat where it may enjoy its dinner in peace and quiet. Then
fighting takes place, during which they tear one another with their
hooks, screaming angrily the while. At last the would-be victim
contrives to escape by flight to a distant spot, where in hot haste it
devours its fruit. When the flying foxes drink, they lap by hanging head
downwards from a branch over the water. Some of the Indian fruit bats,
according to Mr. Francis Day, "often pass the night