Table of Contents

Preface
Acknowledgements

1. Introducing bats
Wings and size
Blind as a bat
Catching and identifying bats
Marking and tagging
Brock’s initiation
Jens’ start
Box: What on Earth?

2. Bat wings and flight
Wing anatomy
White wings
How fast do bats fly?
Drinking
Flying antics
Box: Colour in bats

3. Seeing with sound
The perils of generalization
Basic echolocation
Why echolocate?
Echolocation and the faces of bats
Box: Beam control and bite power

4. Echolocation: a window onto bat behaviour
Biologists as eavesdroppers on bats
Insect prey
Bat communication
Air traffic control
Box: Echolocation and foraging

5. What bats eat, part 1
Learning how much a bat consumes
Some bats eat birds
Versatility
What insects do bats eat?
Specialized hunting
Trawling
Box: Diets of bats

6. What bats eat, part 2
Fruit-eating species
Bats and flowers
Box: The curious case of bananas

7. Vampire bats

8. Where bats occur and where they roost
Temperature
Bat roosts
Box: Patterning in bats
Lingering challenges
Bats up north
Box: Bat boxes

9. Social lives of bats
Reproduction
What is a colony of bats?
Food availability and social patterns
Box: Observational learning

10. How bats use space
Box: Bats get around

11. Threats to bats
Predators
Mishaps
Parasites
Wind turbines
Light pollution
A world without bats?
Global change
Box: Keeping bats away

12. Bats and people
Attitudes towards bats
Bats and disease
Bats as symbols

13. Bats as beings
A last word to the bats

Cast of bats
Notes
Index

About the Author

Brock Fenton is Emeritus Professor of Biology at the University of Western Ontario. He is Deputy Executive Editor-in-Chief of Canadian Science Publishing. Over his long career he has published widely on bats, from detailed research papers to books intended for the general reader.    

Jens Rydell was a Swedish scientist and noted bat photographer, writing more than a hundred scientific papers on bats and insects. Renowned as a great teacher and conservation advocate, he was awarded the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences conservation prize in 2017.

Reviews

A Miscellany of Bats is a well-written and interesting—and often absorbing—book, in which the authors convey their enthusiasm for studying this unique group of animals...Difficult concepts are simplified and the very readable text is largely accessible to general readers who might be interested in bats but have no particular background in either biology or natural history.
*Danny A. Brass, NSS News*

Fascinating and wonderful...I can't find any fault with this book. And would recommend it to anyone, with just about any level of existing knowledge of bats.
*Al Milano, Bat Detecting blog*

...a thoroughly readable book of batty facts, and batty mysteries.
*Tony Atkinson, Mammal News*

If you have an interest in bats (and what naturalist does not?), this book is a good read and a very accessible way into bat research... The book is written by renowned experts and with world class photography and is a valuable addition to a natural history book collection.
*David Skydmore, British Naturalist*

It is not just that A Miscellany of Bats provides facts and figures, it is that there is so much more to know about bats than most of us realize, and both Brock Fenton and the late Jens Rydell convey that knowledge to the lay audience, the text filtering the multifaceted and often highly technical aspects of bat study through the lens of accessibility to the non-scientist.
*Animal Alliance of Canada*

Three things set A Miscellany of Bats apart. For one, the authors are outstanding photographers. The images in this book are second to none. Second, there is a lovely exploration of the roles bats play in human cultures, and much of what is covered here is not in those other volumes.
*Quarterly Review of Biology*

With its blend of compelling facts, breathtaking imagery, and an enthusiastic, yet informative tone, A Miscellany of Bats is an essential read for bat enthusiasts, researchers, conservationists, and anyone with an interest in the natural world. Whether you are well-versed in bat biology or simply curious to learn more, this book will leave you with a newfound appreciation for these extraordinary creatures. Highly recommended!
*Acta Chiropterologica*