Bats
Phil Richardson
Amazing, fascinating, bizarre are words that barely start to describe the bats of the world. Some are big, some tiny, many eat insects and fruit, yet there are others with more unusual tastes in food - such as the fisherman bat which uses its claws to catch fish or the unjustly demonized blood-eating vampire bats. Bats will not fly into your hair, and they are not blind, though most find their food and avoid obstacles in the darkness of night not by vision but by using their remarkable and highly developed sense of echolocation. Their role in pollination is crucial to the environment in which they live. Bats are full of surprises.
With such a large array of species, bat expert Phil Richardson takes you 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 bring these misunderstood creatures to life, describing their complex life cycles, explaining how you can watch and study bats and help conserve these often threatened mammals. Wherever you live, there are likely to be bats near you, so discover more with the help of this highly readable and beautifully illustrated book.
Published by the Natural History Museum.
Key features
- Comprehensive biology and natural history of bats
- Illustrated with stunning images
- Highlights why bats are such a valuable and ecologically important group
- Lively and informative
Contents
List of contents; Preface; Bat evolution, diversity, classification and biology; Bat behaviour; Megabats; Microbats; A tail to be told; Carnivorous bats; As plain as the nose on your face; Vampires and relatives; Vesper bats; Glossary; Index; Further information.
About
the author
Phil Richardson is a science teacher by day and spends evenings and holidays working with bats. He helped popularise bats in the UK by making them appealing to the public in TV and radio presentations, and in the setting up of a number of volunteer bat groups and the Bat Conservation Trust, the national body involved in bat conservation. He is the author of Bats (2000).
About
the Life Series
The Natural History Museum's Life Series explores the panorama of the natural world. Each book covers a single plant or animal group, or ecosystem. The series presents an accessible introduction to the wonders of the natural world suitable for all nature enthusiasts.
Reviews
"This colourful, informative book contains everything that you would ever want to know about bats." Natural World
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Specifications
ISBN: 0 565 09167 0
Price: £9.95
Format: Paperback
Size: 210 x 235 mm
Extent: 112 pp
Published: April 2002
Subject classification: Popular science; natural history; mammals
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