teropus conspicillatus_) on the wooded slope of a hill. They were in
prodigious numbers, and presented the appearance, as they flew along in
the bright sunshine, of a large flock of rooks. As they were approached,
a strong musky odour became apparent, and a loud incessant chattering
was heard. He describes the branches of some of the trees as bending
beneath the loads of bats which clung to them. Some of these were in a
state of inactivity, sleeping or composing themselves to sleep, while
many specimens scrambled along among the boughs and took to flight on
being disturbed. He shot several specimens, three or four at a time, as
they hung in clusters. Unless they were killed outright, they continued
suspended for some time; when wounded they are difficult to handle, as
they bite severely, and at such times their cry resembles somewhat the
squalling of a child. The flesh of these bats is described to be
excellent, and no wonder, when they feed on the sweetest fruits; the
natives regard it as nutritious food, and travellers in Australia, like
the adventurous Leichhardt on his journey to Port Essington, sometimes
are furnished with a welcome meal from the fruit-eating fox-bats which
fall in their way. Even the polished French, in the Isle of Bourbon, as
they used to call the Mauritius, sometimes stewed a Pteropus, in their
_bouillon_ or broth to give it a relish.

Travellers observe that in a state of nature the fox-bats only eat the
ripest and the best fruit, and in their search for it they climb with
great facility along the under side of the branches. In Java, as Dr
Horsfield observes, these creatures, from their numbers and fruit-eating
propensities, occasion incalculable mischief, as they attack every kind
that grows there, from the cocoa-nut to the rarer and more delicate
productions, which are cultivated with care in the gardens of princes
and persons of rank. The doctor observes, that "delicate fruits, as they
approach to maturity, are ingeniously secured by means of a loose net or
basket, skilfully constructed of split bamboo. Without this precaution
little valuable fruit would escape the ravages of the kalong."

We have mentioned that the fox-bats are occasionally eaten in Australia.
Colonel Sykes alludes to the native Portuguese in Western India eating
the flesh of another species of Pteropus; and it would seem that but for
prejudice, their flesh, like that of the young of the South American
monkeys, is extremely