Bats: Their Biology and Behavior

by Tony Hutson

In this illuminating introduction to the world of bats, Tony Hutson reveals the secrets of these extraordinary creatures. Beginning with their anatomy, Hutson explores how bats' unique characteristics have enabled them to evolve to fill a wide variety of habitats and niches. He examines their different life cycles, dietary strategies, migration patterns, and unique feats of echolocation. And he also discusses their predators, parasites, the man-made threats to their ecosystem, and how the viruses harbored by bats can have an impact on humans. Bats also features an appendix of bat families that details the number of genera and species and their distribution and diet.

Genres: Nature

160 pages, Paperback

First published December 14, 2003

Reviews

[Em Voll · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book but I do understand that other people who would enjoy this book would need to be really into bats. Unlike other animal books I’ve read it doesn’t really tell a story, it’s more just straight up facts about bats.

There were times where it was a little dry but it did feel like the purpose of the book was just to be educational. Overall it was fun to learn a bunch of new facts but it could’ve been a little less matter of fact in its sharing of information.

It was a good read but I would only recommend this to someone who is already into bats or they might get bored. I still think Merlin Tuttles book was amazing and interesting to people who aren’t even into bats so I’d pick that one up first before reading this one.

Yay bats! 🦇

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

A decent, and yet somehow self-contradictory (in one chapter, the author said that a bat’s heart can beat up to 1000 times a minute during flight, but in another he mentioned only 200 times a minute) introduction to bat diversity and lifestyle.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great introductory book to bats of the world. Lots of great pictures. Published in 2000, so there is absolutely nothing about White Nose Syndrome in here, but it's still a great book.