Inside JEB i NO EXCESS BAGGAGE: BODY CHANGES IN MIGRATING BATS

Rather than hibernate during the cold Canadian winter, hoary bats prefer to undertake an impressive migration to their wintering grounds in Southern USA and Mexico before returning home to Canada during the spring. These bats are not the only winged animals to undertake such mammoth journeys, with many birds also migrating similar distances to escape harsh winters. However, as Liam McGuire from the University of Western Ontario, Canada, points out, ‘We know quite a lot about bird migration, but migratory bats haven’t been studied to any extent at all.’ Do bats use the same strategies as birds to fuel their longhaul trips? McGuire decided to investigate, and travelled to New Mexico, USA, and Saskatchewan, Canada, to capture bats at the beginning and end of their spring migration (p. 800).