Includes index

Introduction -- From dotterels to dragonflies: The miracle of migration -- Owls and nightjars: Moonlight's mystery birds -- Here come the moths! Plant pollination after dark -- Kit foxes, caracals, and k-rats: Deserts around the world -- Tapirs, tenrecs, and tarantulas: Life on the forest floor -- Pumas, ocelots, and kodkods: A cornucopia of cats -- Vampires, bulldogs, and free-tails: A bonanza of bats -- Lemurs, lorises, and night monkeys: Nocturnal primates -- Dolphins, diatoms, and the great elevator of life: Oceans after dark -- Fireflies, foxfire, and phosphorescent waves: Things that glow in the night -- The starlight smells like music: A rainforest case study -- Acknowledgments -- Photo credits -- Index

"Nature doesn't simply stop for 12 hours when the sun goes down. This popular science book explores the mysteries of the natural world that most of us never see. In Monterey, night-feeding dolphins chase nocturnal squid which have made a vertical migration to the surface while manta rays beat the waves with their wings to make the bioluminescent plankton light up so they can see (and eat) it. In Borneo, bats nestle into pitcher plants. High above the Indian Ocean, transcontinental dragonflies migrate from India to Africa. Desert plants pulse and flex as they mend tissue and redistribute water in the darkness. Charles Hood takes us on several journeys to observe the rich, diverse wildlife that come alive under the cover of night"--