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Going it alone: observations of solitary roosting in two Australian flying-foxes (Pteropus alecto and P. poliocephalus)
Abstract
Unlike some flying-fox species that exhibit solitary roosting, all flying-fox species of the Australian mainland are strongly colonial, though some extent of solitary roosting in these species is anecdotally known. This note reports on five accounts of solitary roosting in black flying-foxes (P. alecto) and grey-headed flying-foxes (P. poliocephalus), herein referred to as singletons. These accounts are potentially the first published detailed observations of singletons in Australian flying-foxes outside of visible periods of food shortages. In particular, one account involved solitary roosting recorded over multiple days. The frequency and extent of singletons in Australian flying-foxes remain completely unknown. In terms of deriving population sizes in these species from counts at communal roosts, these individuals represent an addition to those estimates.
AM24016 Accepted 05 August 2024
© CSIRO 2024
