British Bat Calls: A Guide to Species Identification

by Jon Russ

Knowledge of bat echolocation and social calls, and identification using ultrasonic bat detectors and sound analysis software, has grown significantly in the last decade. In this practical guide Jon Russ and contributors (Kate Barlow, Philip Briggs & Sandie Sowler) present the latest information in a clear and concise manner. The book covers topics including the properties of sound, how bats use sound, bat detectors and recording devices, analysis software, and call analysis. For each species found in the British Isles, information is given on distribution, emergence times, flight and foraging behaviour, habitat, echolocation calls including parameters for common measurements, and social calls. Calls are described in the context of the different technologies employed to record them (heterodyne, frequency division and time expansion). Various sonograms for each species are displayed in BatSound and AnaLookW. A species echolocation guide is included."

Genres: Nonfiction

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2012

Reviews

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Knowledge of bat echolocation, calls and identification using bat detectors and programs such as BatSound has grown significantly in the last decade. In this practical guide Jon Russ and contributors (Kate Barlow, Philip Briggs & Sandie Sowler) present the latest data in a clear and concise manner.

The book covers topics such as the properties of sound; how bats use sound; bat detection methods; recording devices; analysis software; recording techniques and call analysis. For each species found in the British Isles, information is given on distribution; emergence times; flight and foraging behaviour; habitat; and echolocation including parameters for common measurements. Calls are described in the context of the different technologies used (heterodyne, frequency division and time expansion). Various spectrograms are displayed for each species using examples from both BatSound and AnaLook. An echolocation key is included with the book.

This is a very thorough and comprehensive book that covers almost every aspect of bat calls and their detection from how bats use sound and how these can be picked up to providing detailed and descriptive species accounts for all species found in the UK. Whilst Russ is clearly very experienced and knowledgable in this field he manages to keep his writing accessible for every level of bat surveyor, from the novice to the hardened professional. He also provides a variety of sonograms/spectrograms for each species allowing for the different detectors and software that are available (which makes a pleasant change from the usual 'this is what I use so that's all I'm going to refer to' approach). This is a practical book for any and all who undertake bat sound surveys, for whatever reason, and can be used both in the field and in the office/lab/home. Highly recommended.