The brown and grey long-eared bats are among the best-known European bat species, being distinctive and easily recognizable to most naturalists. This book examines their biology, ecology, and behaviour. Conservation issues surrounding both species are also addressed. Topics include identifying the species, foraging, reproductive biology, social organization, and the effects of man-made alterations to the environment and proposed conservation methods.
Who's who - an introduction to long-eared bats; recognition and design features; gleaning and diet; foraging behaviour; reproduction; social organization and beahaviour; population biology; hibernation; long-eared bats and man. Appendices: scientific names of bats; care of stranded or injures bats; useful contact addresses in Britain.
As a Research Fellow at the University of Aberdeen, Susan Swift studies the foraging behavior and conservation biology of some of Britain's less well-known bat species. She has published a number of research papers on long-eared bats and other Scottish species and has co-edited two volumes of conference proceedings. Swift received her B.S. in zoology from the University of Aberdeen in 1977 and then wrote her Ph.D. thesis on the feeding ecology and reproductive behavior of Scottish bat species, including long-eared bats. She has worked with local conservation organizations as a bat group trainer to promote public awareness of bat habitats and is a member of the Mammal Society and the Bat Conservation Trust.