A comprehensive illustrated guide to the fascinating biology and natural history of bats.
Phil Richardson's expert text tells the amazing and often bizarre story of bats from around the world and the challenges they face. Unfortunately, most bat populations in North America are declining, largely due to habitat loss and disturbance of nesting sites.
Bats describes these mammals' complex life cycles and explains how anyone can watch and study bats and help to conserve them. Color illustrations reveal bat anatomy, including the key features of their wings and legs, and striking photographs show bats in their habitat and mid flight.
The book includes:
- Physical characteristics and reproduction
- Sight and echolocation
- Feeding habits and hibernation
- Bat evolution and biology
- Bat behavior
- Carnivorous bats
- Horseshoe and Old World leaf-nosed bats
- Vampire bats and their relatives
- Tailed bats
- Vesper bats
- Species distribution map
- New information on the "white nose" virus threatening North American bat populations
Bats share one major characteristic with sharks: people have many misconceptions about them both. In truth, as Phil Richardson entertainingly reveals, bats can see amazingly well in the dark, under no circumstances will they fly into your hair, and only three tropical species drink blood.
“In this fully revised and reformatted edition bat expert Phil Richardson takes the reader on a guided tour of the nocturnal world of bats: where they live, how they feed, and how they survive in almost every habitat on the planet. He uses his experiences of bat watching around the world to describe their complex life cycles, explaining how you can watch and study bats and help conserve these often threatened mammals. He also introduces many of the different species that have fitted so well into the environment. (Amazon review)
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