Smithsonian

Donate Join Shop
Art and Design History and Culture Science and Technology
Home › Encyclopedia Smithsonian › Science and Technology
Share this page
  Selected List of Publications on Bats
 
 

The National Museum of Natural History receives numerous requests for information on bats. This list of selected references is divided into 3 categories: general, technical, and popular. The general section focuses on the broad topics of evolution, biology, natural history and behavior of bats. The technical section provides citations that expand and detail particular species or subjects and may be of interest to the college student. Some of the technical works are also included in the general category because of their readability and breadth of information. The popular section includes citations from periodicals that are easy to obtain in local libraries and books suitable for young children. A double star ** is used to designate references for elementary age students.  Sources of information about bats are also included.

General

Allen, G.M.

1962 Bats. Dover Publications, New York. 368 pp. (Chapters on folklore, habitat, distribution, migration, hibernation, behavior and diseases.)

Altringham, J.

1996 Bats: Biology and Behaviour. Oxford University Press, Oxford; New York. 262 pp. (For undergraduates and graduates; broad coverage including ecology, evolution, flight, echolocation, reproduction and conservation.)

Barbour, R., and W. Davis

1969 Bats of America. University Press of Kentucky, Lexington. 286 pp. (Identification manual for bats of the U.S., records range, habitat, reproduction, behavior, parasites; includes guide for studying bats.)

Fenton, M.B.

1983 Just Bats. University of Toronto Press, Toronto, Buffalo. 165 pp.

1992 Bats. Facts on File, Inc., New York. 207 pp. (Easy to read summary of the biology, behavior and conservation of bats; includes anatomy, origin, flight, echolocation, other senses, populations, roosts, and several species accounts.)

Griffin, D.

1986 Listening in the Dark: the Acoustic Orientation of Bats and Man. Reprint of 1958 publication by Comstock Publishing, Ithaca. 415 pp. (Excellent technical discussion)

1959 Echoes of Bats and Men. Anchor Books, Garden City, New York. 156 pp.

Hill, J.E., and J.D. Smith

1984 Bats: a Natural History. University of Texas Press, Austin. 243 pp. (For layman and professional. Chapters include: form and structure, evolution, flight, food, thermoregulation, reproduction, echolocation, population ecology, man and bats.)

Kunz, T.H. (editor)

1982 Ecology of Bats. Plenum Press, New York, London. 425 pp. (Accounts of roosting, reproduction, growth, physiological ecology, etc.)

Novick, A., and N. Leen

1969 The World of Bats. Holt, Rinehart & Winston, New York. 171 pp. (Many photographs; for all ages)

Nowak, R.

1991 Walker's Mammals of the World. 5th edition, Vol. I. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London. 642 pp.

1994 Walker's Bats of the World. Introduction by T.H. Kunz and E.D. Pierson. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore. 287 pp. (Portions adapted from Walker's Mammals of the World, 5th edition.)

Schmidly, D.J.

1991 The Bats of Texas. Texas A & M University Press, College Station. 188 pp. (Synopsis of current information about Texas bats: systematics, distribution, and biology. Three sections: bats in general, a key, and 32 species accounts.)

Slaughter, R.H. and D.W. Walton, (editors)

1970 About Bats. Southern Methodist University Press, Dallas. 339 pp.

Tuttle, M.D.

1988 America's Neighborhood Bats. University of Texas Press, Austin. 96 pp. (Easy to read summary with personal accounts focusing on facts versus myths. Includes beginner's key for identification.)

Wilson, D.E.

1997 Bats in Question: The Smithsonian Answer Book. Photos by Merlin D. Tuttle. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC 168 pp. (Covers aspects of bat biology, evolution and behavior in easy-to-read question and answer format. Useful bibliography.)

Wilson, D.E., and D.M. Reeder (editors)

1993 (See Technical)

Wimsatt, W. (editor)

1970 (See Technical)

Yalden, B.W., and P.A. Morris

1975 The Lives of Bats. David & Charles, London. 247 pp.

Technical

Baker, R.J., J.K. Jones, Jr., and D.C. Carter

1976 to 1979 Biology of Bats of the New World Family Phyllostomatidae. Special Publication, Museum of Texas Tech University. Nos. 10, 13, and 16.

Fenton, M.B.

1985 Communication in the Chiroptera. Indiana Press, Bloomington. 161 pp.

Fenton, M.B., P. Racey, and J.M.V. Rayner

1987 Recent Advances in the Study of Bats. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. 470 pp.

Findley, J.S.

1993 Bats: A Community Perspective. Cambridge University Press. 167 pp. (Overview of bat biology, systematics diversity and review of methodological problems in bat research.)

Geluso, K.N., J.S. Altenbach, and R.C. Kerbo

1987 Bats of Carlsbad Caverns National Park. Carlsbad Caverns National History Association, Carlsbad, N.M. 33 pp.

Greenhall, A.M.

1982 House Bat Management. Resource Publication No. 143, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington, DC. 33 pp.

Greenhall, A.M. and J. Paradiso

1968 Bats and Bat Banding. Resource Publication 72, Bureau of Sport Fish and Wildlife. Washington, DC. 48 pp.

Greenhall, A.M., and U. Schmidt

1988 Natural History of Vampire Bats. CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida. 246 pp.

Handley, C.O. Jr., D.E. Wilson, and A.L. Gardner (editors)

1991 Demography and Natural History of the Common Fruit Bat, Artibeus jamaicencis, on Barro Colorado Island, Panamá. Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology No. 511. Smithsonian Press, Washington, DC 173 pp.

Hekkers, J., (editor)

1984 The Bats of Colorado: Shadows in the Night. Colorado Division of Wildlife, Denver. 23 pp.

Hill, J.E., and J.D. Smith

1984 (See General)

Howard, R.W.

1995 AURITUS. A Natural History of the Brown Long-Eared Bat. William Sessions Limited, York, England. 154 pp. (monograph on a single British Bat.)

Kunz, T.H. (editor)

1988 Ecological and Behavioral Methods for the Study of Bats. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC 533 pp. (For the professional: techniques for capturing, marking and measuring, surveying, photographing, analyzing diets, etc.)

Miller, G.S., Jr.

1907 The Families and Genera of Bats. U.S. National Museum Bulletin 57, Washington, DC. 282 pp.

Ransome, R.

1990 The Natural History of Hibernating Bats. Christopher Helm, London. 235 pp.

Schmidly, D.J.

1991 (See General)

Turner, D.

1975 The Vampire Bat: A Field Study in Behavior and Ecology. Johns Hopkins Press, Baltimore. 145 pp.

Wilson, D.E., and D.M. Reeder (editors)

1993 Mammal Species of the World. A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. 2nd edition. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC 1206 pp.

Wimsatt, W. (editor)

1970-1977 Biology of Bats. Vols. I,II, III. Academic Press, New York.

 

Popular

Ackerman, D.

1997 Bats. Shadows in the Night. Photographs by Merlin Tuttle (Personal account of capturing, studying and photographing bats with Merlin Tuttle at Big Bend National Park.) **

Adams, R.A., and S.C. Pedersen

1994 "Wings on Their Fingers." Natural History, Vol.103, No.1, pp. 48-54.

Braus, J.(editor)

1986 "Bats." Ranger Rick's Nature Scope Vol. 2, No. 4, pp. 33-44. **

French, T.W., J.E. Cardoza, and G.S. Jones

1986 A Homeowner's Guide to Massachusetts Bats and Bat Problems. Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Boston. 18 pp.

Heinrichs, J.

1986 "Build Your Own Bat House." International Wildlife, Vol. 16, No. 1, pp. 42-43.

Laycock, G.

1981 Bats: Wings in the Night. Random House, New york. 79 pp.**

Mohr, C.E.

1976 The World of the Bat. J.B. Lippincott Co., Philadelphia. 162 pp.**

Novick, A.

1973 "Bats Aren't All Bad," National Geographic, May 1973, Vol. 143, No. 5, pp. 614-637. (For all ages)

Novick, A., and N. Leen

1969 (See General)

Richarz, K., and A. Limbrunner

1993 The World of Bats. Flying Goblins of the Night. T.F.H. Publications, Neptune City, NJ. 192 pp.

Robertson, J.

1990 The Complete Bat. Chatto & Windus, London. 165 pp.

Schlein, M.

1982 Billions of Bats. J.B. Lippincott, New York. 56 pp. **

Schober, W.

1984 The Lives of Bats. Arco Publishing, New York. 200 pp.

Strohn, B.

1982 "Most `Facts' about Bats are Myths." National Wildlife, Vol. 20, No. 5, pp. 35-39.**

Tuttle, M.D.

1982 "The Amazing Frog-eating Bat." National Geographic, Vol. 161, No. 1, pp. 78-91. **

1984 "Harmless, Highly Beneficial, Bats Still Get a Bum Rap." Smithsonian, Vol. 14, No. 10, pp. 74-81.**

1986 "Gentle Fliers of the African Night." National Geographic, Vol. 169, No.4, pp. 540-558.**

1988 America's Neighborhood Bats. University of Texas Press, Austin. 96 pp. (Readable answers to the many questions you might have about bats from an authority on the subject.)**

1995 "Saving North America's Beleaguered Bats." National Geographic, Vol. 188, No. 2, pp. 36-57.**

Tuttle, M.D., and D.L. Hensley

1993 The Bat House Builder's Handbook. Bat Conservation International, Austin, Texas. (How to attract bats.)

 

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

 

Bat Facts

Bat World Sanctuary (http://www.batworld.org/main/main.html)

Bat Research News

Issued quarterly, an important publication specializing in current research on bats. It includes technical papers with abstracts, latest news reports, book reviews, announcements and notes on meetings and symposia and an extensive categorized listing of recent literature. Can be obtained at a large university library, or by subscription from G. Roy Horst, Department of Biology, State University of New York at Potsdam, New York 13676. E-mail horstgr@potsdam.edu

Journal of Mammalogy

Issued quarterly by the American Society of Mammalogists, publishes technical studies on all aspects of the biology and behavior of mammals. The Society also issues Special Publications (book-length monographs), Mammalian Species (summaries of the biology of individual species).

Zoological Record

An index published by the Zoological Society of London, specializes in titles of interest to taxonomists but also lists articles on morphology, physiology, genetics, and ecology of specific animal groups; indexed by author, subject systematics, and geographic area.

Bat Conservation International:

A nonprofit organization dedicated to educate and publicize the value of bats and promote conservation and research projects dealing with them. For additional information you may write them at P.O Box 162603, Austin, Texas 78716.

For a listing of bat conservation groups in other countries see Bats in Question, page 130, by D. Wilson, (See General).

 

Prepared by the Department of Systematic Biology, Vertebrate Zoology,
National Museum of Natural History, in cooperation with the
Public Inquiry Mail Service,
Smithsonian Institution

April 1999

 
 


NOTE: This publication can be made available in Braille or audio cassette. To obtain a copy in one of these formats, please call or write :
Smithsonian Information
PO Box 37012
SI Building, Room 153, MRC 010
Washington, DC 20013-7012
202.633.1000 (voice)
e-mail: info@si.edu
(Please provide postal address.)

 
Contacts | FAQ | Press Room | Privacy | Terms of Use
Top  Top