General Biology

Little has been recorded of the behaviour or general ecology of the New-Zealand bats. Chance encounters with colonies, often as a result of felling timber, provide some information relating to habitat and gregarity. Stead (1937) gives a report of observations on Mystacina near Stewart Island, and a few brief accounts, such as Roach and Turbott (1953) and Parham (1959), record the behaviour of captive bats. The present survey reviews all past accounts and includes some recent data.