Acknowledgements   v
Foreword   vii
Introduction   1

Part I: Natural History
1. Bats – Gentle, Misunderstood, Ecologically Essential Flying Mammals   23
2. What is a Bat?   45
3. Natural Roosting Sites Commonly Used by Bats   57
4. How Do Bats Navigate, Communicate, and Find Food?   75
5. Breeding: Courtship and Reproduction   111

Part II: Human–Bat Interactions – Past and Present
6. Bats in Folklore, Carnival, and Human Cultural Experience   121
7. The Vampire Bat Desmodus and Rabies Control in Trinidad   145
8. The Value of Regional Bats in Biomedical Research   151
9. A History of Bat Collecting and Research in Trinidad   155
10. Bats Roosting in Human Dwellings and Public Buildings – Solutions   163

Part III: Species Accounts
- Sac-winged Bats, Family Emballonuridae   188
- Leaf-nosed Bats, Family Phyllostomidae   195
- Gleaning and Carnivorous Bats, Phyllostominae   196
- Nectar-feeding or Long-tongued Bats, Glossophaginae   214
- Short-tailed Bats, Carolliinae   219
- Tailless Bats, Stenodermatinae   220
- Vampire Bats, Demodontinae   236
- Leaf-chinned Bats, Family Mormoopidae   240
- Fishing Bats, Family Noctilionidae   245
- Thumbless Bats, Family Furipteridae   247
- Funnel-eared Bats, Family Natalidae   249
- Disk-winged Bats, Family Thyropteridae   250
- Free-tailed Bats, Family Molossidae   252
- Plain-nosed Bats, Family VespertiHonidae   262

Citations   269
Image Credits   285