Common Blossom Bat

Family: Pteropodidae
Scientific name: Syconycteris australis

Where they roost:
On tree branches, hidden by leaves, in rainforest, wet eucalypt forests and paperbark swamps.

What they eat:
Nectar and pollen of bottlebrush, paperbark, banksia and gum tree blossoms. They have a long, narrow face and a very long, thin tongue with brush-like tip which helps them collect nectar and pollen from flowers.

Conservation threats:
Vulnerable to loss of feeding and roosting habitat from clearing of forests for agriculture and housing estates.

Other information:
They often hover in front of flowers as they feed from them. They are important pollinators of many rainforest plants.

Photo © H&J Beste/Nature Focus