Fruit bat

Fruit bat
Species information
Eye colour	Green
Skin colour	Brown
Related to	Bat
Mortality	Mortal
Distinction	Diet of fruit/nectar Poor eyesight Sharp hearing Excellent sense of smell
Status	Extant

"A flying mammal with keen hearing and sense of smell, but generally poor eyesight"

— Folio Bruti

The fruit bat is one of the two major classifications of bat, so named because they eat solely fruit and/or nectar.

Description

While they have exceptional hearing and sense of smell, their eyesight is typically poor. Fruit bats were among the varieties of bat that could be found around the grounds of Hogwarts Castle. If they need to be defended from, fruit bats are particularly vulnerable to the Knockback Jinx and Red Sparks. The Ballycastle Bats had a fruit bat named Barny as their team mascot, who also featured in Butterbeer advertisements.

In the summer of 1992, after being locked up in The Smallest Bedroom, Harry Potter noted glumly to himself that "Now that the Dursleys knew they weren't going to wake up as fruit bats, he had lost his only weapon."

Behind the scenes

• In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, during the entry into Diagon Alley, a fruit bat was briefly seen hanging and crawling around a pole near Magical Menagerie (presumably it was being sold as a potential pet).
• Unlike in the games, real fruit bats (AKA Flying Foxes) generally have good eyesight.

Appearances

• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (film) (First appearance)
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (First mentioned)
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (video game) (GBC version only)
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (video game) (GBA version only)
• Quidditch Through the Ages
• Fantastic Beasts: Cases from the Wizarding World
• Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery
• Harry Potter: Magic Awakened