Grey-headed Flying-fox

Introduction

The Grey-headed Flying-fox is one of the largest bats in Australia with a wingspan of over 1 m.

Identification

The Grey-headed Flying-fox is mostly grizzled, except for a grey head and orange-red mantle encircling the neck.

Habitat

The Grey-headed Flying-fox are found in a variety of habitats, including forests and woodlands, rainforests, intertidal mangroves and swamps. They are also increasingly seen forming semi- and permanent colonies in urban areas.

Distribution

The Grey-headed Flying-fox is distributed in colonies along the east coast of Australia, from Adelaide in South Australia, through Victoria, NSW and Queensland. Some are also found in ACT.

Feeding and diet

Grey-headed Flying-foxes leave their colony sites around sunset in search for food. They can travel up to 50 km to their feeding areas, and they eat fruit from a range of native and introduced species, particularly figs, and for this reason it is sometimes called 'Fruit Bat'. It also feeds on nectar and pollen from native trees, especially gum trees.

Life history cycle

The breeding season for Grey-headed Flying-foxes are between September and January. When females give birth after a long 6-month pregnancy, they are carried by the mother for the first three weeks, clinging to her teat with their special curved milk teeth and gripping her fur with their strong claws. As they grow larger and become too heavy to carry on feeding expeditions, they are left behind in special 'creches' in the maternity camp. After about three months the young are able to fly and by five to six months of age they begin to feed independently.

Other behaviours and adaptations

The Grey-headed Flying-fox spends much of its time hanging from the branches of trees in forests or mangroves. Groups known as 'camps' and/or colony sites can be made up of many thousands of animals (in the past, it was not unusual to see them in the millions!). They do not echolocate but rely on their well-developed senses of sight and smell.

Conservation status

Although they appear in large groups, numbers of Grey-headed Flying-foxes are declining because of habitat clearing. These bats are important to healthy forest ecosystems because they pollinate and disperse the seeds of many important tree species.