Bats 1/1

No back cover. Paper size: 168.0 × 247.0 mm RSPB Spotlight: Bats is packed with eye-catching, informative colour photographs and features succinct, detailed text written by a knowledgeable naturalist Thanks to their speed, size and nocturnal habitats, bats are among the most interesting, and least understood, mammals that frequent our homes and gardens. From their ability to make sounds that are above the range of human hearing, to their reliance on echolocation to navigate objects and find prey, their unique behaviour means that bats are seldom seen or heard. With nearly 1,400 species worldwide, bats make up around 25 per cent of all mammal species. Spotlight Bats features all 17 species that live and breed in the British Isles, as well as an array of the most fascinating bats from around the world, including some of the more charismatic species such as vampire bats and fishing bats. Nancy Jennings uses up-to-date research to provide insights intothe lives of these elusive mammals, covering the biology, diversity, evolution and ecology of bats, as well as their interactions with humans and folklore. The Spotlight series introduces readers to the lives and behaviours of our favourite animals with eye-catching colour photography and informative expert text. Spotlight Bats will provide up-to-date and exciting information to an audience already keen on nature and interested to know more about these fascinating mammals by detailing the biology, diversity, evolution, natural history, behavior, and ecology of bats, as well as their interactions with humans and folklore. These tiny, harmless mammals are frequent visitors to our homes and gardens yet, due to their speed, size and nocturnal / crepuscular habits, are extremely difficult to get a good look at and are little understood. There are 1,240 species of bat in the world; bats make up around 20 per cent of all mammal species, but the taxonomic focus of Spotlight Bats will be three common and relatively easily identifiable species (Pipistrelle, Noctule and Long-eared Bat), and three more unusual ones (Daubenton's bat, Barbastelle and Greater Horseshoe Bat). Other bat species of interest, including some of the more charismatic ones (e.g. vampire bats, fishing bats, bumblebee bats, fruit bats, etc.) will also be described.