| Social Calls of the Bats of Britain and Ireland Bats are fascinating mammals about which we still have much to learn. As well as using ultrasonic echolocation calls for orientation and while foraging, they also have a complex array of vocalisations for communication. These are known as social calls and are an essential component of their colonial lifestyle. This book brings together the current state of knowledge of social calls relating to the bat species occurring within Britain and Ireland, with some additional examples from species represented elsewhere in Europe. It includes access to a downloadable library of calls to be used in conjunction with the book. Downloadable call library Included in Social Calls of the Bats of Britain and Ireland The final, and main chapter (Chapter 6) introduces the 23 species covered in the book giving each a detailed profile including: habitat preferences, typical roosting locations, roost emergence times, mating strategies and maternity behaviour. Each species profile includes what is known about the social calls for that species and this text is supported by colour sonograms (created using Pettersson BatSound V4.1) of most of the calls discussed. Each sonogram is linked to a .wav sound file (Time Expansion x10) within the downloadable library. The sound files allow the reader to hear, as well as see, the calls produced using any bat sound analysis software that supports the .wav format. The authors conclude with a bibliography and an extensive list of references directly cross-referenced throughout the book. Neil Middleton was born in London, England on December 8, 1931. He received a degree in English from University College London. He worked from the Catholic publisher Sheed and Ward before joining Penguin Books in 1969. He left Penguin Books in 1983 to be an editorial director at Pluto Press. In 1987, he established the new, independent publishing imprint Earthscan. He wrote several books on development and sustainability around the world. He died on November 20, 2015 at the age of 83. (Bowker Author Biography) |