Bats of the United States and Canada

I liked the info and the picture

I bought the hardcopy print version of this book based on previous reviews on Amazon. I was looking for a guidebook providing general information on all of the native species of bats in the U.S. and Canada. This book was perfect. The first half of the book (pages 1-90) provides general information on the biology of bats (e.g., sections on echolocation, foraging, feeding behavior, habitats, homing, reproduction, etc.). The last part of this general biology portion includes sections on "threats to bats", including sections on "wind energy" and "white nose syndrome". I particularly liked the last few pages of the first half of the book dealing with research techniques (sections on "thermal imaging", "nets and traps", "banding", "radio-telemetry", and "acoustic identification"). The first half of the book is nicely illustrated with many color photos. The last half of the book (pages 91-191 is a series of two-page summaries for each of the 47 species of bats native to the U.S. (all 20 species of bats native to Canada are native to the U.S. also). Each two-page summary provides a distribution map and a color plate photograph of the species. These summaries provide general information on roosting and feeding habits also, thus allowing a person to quickly identify species most likely to be encountered (e.g., in a barn, cave entrance, garage, under a bridge, etc.). However, I would not classify this book as a "field guide" per se but, rather, as a great little desk reference for folks who want to have a general understanding of bats native to the United States and Canada.

This book dedicates less than 1 page of text per species. Most "sections" or "chapters" are only 2-3 pages dominated by pictures. This book may work for a 6th-grade report on bats, but if you're looking for an extensive book with species accounts and scientific details on bats, pass. There's no literature cited section. I'm returning the book.

Bats of the United States and Canada. Michael J. Harvey, J. Scott Altenbach, and Troy L. Best. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore; 2011. ISBN 978-1-4214-0191-1. 5 by 8 inches, 202 pages, softbound. $24.95.There are forty-seven species of bats living in North America north of Mexico. Four others, including the hairy-legged vampire, have been seen at least once but are considered "accidentals," with no permanent population. The first half of this nice little book is devoted to a pretty thorough, if brief, review of all aspects of bats, including their biology, importance, and conservation issues. The latter is up to date, with both white-nose syndrome and wind turbines mentioned. As usual, we are asked to accept uncritically that bats must be beneficial because they eat insects. The second half runs through all the forty-seven species, with a page of text, a distribution map, and a large color photo. These are sorted by family, but that is hard to discover, since the family is not mentioned in the descriptions. A table in the appendix lists the species by family, with a code for their conservation status, such as endangered or threatened.

Super informative, I really enjoyed reading the introductory portions discussing bat ecology and behavior. I do wish they had more extensively covered bat anatomy, with maybe some detailed drawings of body parts and functions associated. Pretty sure they got all the North American bats listed here though. I wish they had some more specific distinguishing characteristics given for each species though, when you go mist-netting you probably couldn't use this book to definitively identify what you catch. That being said there is maybe one other book I've found that really accomplishes what this one does, and this one is much more succinct and easy to read.

I got this for my boyfriend because he is always watching the bats fly around our house at night and hes a huge animal freak, HUNDREDS of books and extensive knowledge, but he didnt have a bat book. so i got this for him and he LOVED it. I flipped through it and it's highly informative. HIGHLY recommend

Full color pictures and a lot of information- what's not to love about this book?I highly recommend it!

This book is the most recent update for the bats of the US and Canada and belongs in the library of anyone in the natural resource management field, academia, and should be available in public libraries considering the interest shown in bats due to their benefits to humans and the environment, and because some species have suffered drastic population declines due to the fungus causing White-nose syndrome. The very informative general information followed by species accounts and the incredible photographs make this a very desirable book. Other books of interest are Bats of British Columbia by Nagorsen and Brigham, and Bats in Question by Don Wilson.

The first part of the book is a great introduction to bats on most of their main aspects. It includes word on WNS, Wind Turbine and Reseach Techniques.The species' descriptions are great with interesting and useful informations, especially on roosting, feeding and hibernating behaviours. Each specie goes with a gorgeous picture.Unfortunaly, the photographs do not focus on specie identification. The book does not include species description and the only informations about the species anatomy is weight and wingspan.I would recommend this book to anybody who is interested in bats. It is also valuable information to who studies bats in north america if you're rather focused on behaviour than anatomy and if you're not looking for an identification guide.

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Good for beginners or for an introduction. You will need a better book if you really want to identify correctly.

The generalized discussion prior to discussing the individual bats was useful. Easy to understand and the pictures helped make these unseen creatures more real.

Excellent introduction to bats of North America!