Recommended Reading

Let us know any books that you have found useful, interesting, enjoyable or all three! The majority of these books should be available from Natural History Book Services.

the batworkers manualThe Bat Workers’ Manual

Edited by AJ Mitchell-Jones and AP McLeish (178 pages, b/w photos, b/w illus, tabs.)
Joint Nature Conservation Committee. ISBN-10: 1861075588 Download available

The appearance of the manual has changed substantially from the 2nd edition. It provides detailed information on all aspects of bats and is an essential reference for anyone wishing to obtain a licence to carry out bat work in the UK. The excellent drawings by Tom McOwat have almost all been retained, with some updated diagrams where necessary to reflect the changes in health and safety practices.


A Guide to British BatsWhich Bat Is It? – A Guide to Bat Identification in Great Britain and Ireland

RE Stebbings, DW Yalden and JS Herman(48 pages, b/w illus.)
Mammal Society. ISBN-13: 9780906282649

Excellent little guide to bats, giving identification keys, advice on how to study bats and an important section on legislation. This edition has been revised.


Bat Surveys - Good Practice GuidelinesBat Surveys – Good Practice Guidelines

Bat Conservation Trust (82 pages, tabs, figs.)
ISBN-13: 9781872745992 Download available

To conserve bats effectively, and to meet national and international statutory obligations and agreements, there is a clear need for quality controls and appropriate levels of bat survey to be established. To date, there has been uncertainty around the type of survey and level of survey effort needed, when to survey, and how these decisions are affected by the habitat, time of year, geographical location and the species present or likely to be present in the prospective survey area.

This book provides good practice guidance for those commissioning, undertaking or reviewing bat surveys throughout the UK. It is intended to bring about improvements in the standard and consistency of bat surveys and survey reports and ultimately lead to greater undertstanding about bats and improvements in their protection and conservation.


A Guide to British BatsA Guide to British Bats

Kate Jones and Allyson Walsh (8 pages, col photos, b/w illus, tabs.)
Field Studies Council (FSC. ISBN-10: 1851538755

There are over a thousand species of bats, and Britain is home to 16 species from 2 families (Rhinolophidae and Vespertilionidae). This fold-out guide includes all 16 species of bats that live and breed in Britain and has two parts: a guide to identifying bats in flight using bat detectors, flight patterns, size, habitat and emergence time after dusk; and a key labelling the different body parts of a bat for identifying bats in the hand.