Bats

by Phil Richardson

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.The diversity found within the one thousand species of bats is staggering. Using echolocation (a type of sonar) to locate flying insects, microbats intercept and eat up to three thousand in one night. Some have hearing so advanced they can detect the rustle of a moving leaf caused by a passing spider. The fisherman bat uses its claws to catch fish, and the fringe-lipped bat can distinguish between the mating calls of poisonous and harmless frogs. Just the names of the old man bat, ghost-faced bat, and leaf-nosed bat indicate some of the sometimes bizarre physical characteristics displayed in the book's one hundred color photographs.

Richardson intersperses many colorful firsthand accounts of studying bats in the field and stresses throughout how important bats are to their particular ecosystems. In closing, he explains how to build bat houses and offers practical tips for building bat-friendly environments.

112 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2002

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Evangeline Munster · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really interesting and educational look. I now want to make my garden more bat focussed.

[Karlissa J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good guide for familiarizing yourself with these creatures' behavior and biology. I particularly love the picture list of bat families on page 10: a helpful feature for visual people that I've yet to find in another bat book.

[Mimi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Informative, learned a few new things about bats. Book has great pictures.

[Chloe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bats by Phil Richardson contains many beautiful and adorable photographs of bats. The book informs you on many aspects of bat behaviour, and describes a wide variety of fascinating species and families. I would recommend this book to adults, teenagers and older children.