Grey-headed Flying Fox Bat Pteropus poliocephalus

The Grey-headed Flying Fox Bat is a large fruit bat native to south-eastern Australia and, like all Flying Fox Bats/Fruit Bats, one of the "megabat" group.

By day, thousands of the Grey-headed Flying Fox Bats roost communally in the trees of the Royal Botanical Gardens by Sydney Harbour Bridge in downtown Sydney.

Unlike the "microbats," the vegetarian Fruit Bats don't use echolocation but rely on smell and eyesight. They perform a useful role in dispersal of seeds and pollen.

The Grey-headed Flying Fox, one of some 60 Flying Fox species worldwide, is the largest bat in Australia.

At night the bats leave their daytime, communal roosts and head high over the city to their respective feeding grounds, which may be several miles away.