Black flying fox  (Pteropus alecto)

Description

The black flying fox is Australia’s largest bat and, with an incredible wingspan of over a metre, is amongst the largest bats in the world (4). As its name suggests, the body is almost completely black in colour, relieved only by an incomplete rusty-red collar and a light frosting of white-tipped hairs on the abdomen (5) (6). Sometimes these bats have a reddish-brown eye-ring, and the lower leg is un-furred (6). During the day, thousands of bats can be seen in huge, noisy colonies amongst the treetops. Come dusk, vast numbers clutter the darkening night sky as they fly off in search of food, shrieking as they go (7) (8).

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