Colophon

The animal on the cover of Feedback Control for Computer Systems is the pipistrelle bat (Pipistrellus pipistrellus). The pipistrelle bat, also called the common pipistrelle, is found mostly in Europe, but can also be found in North Africa and southwestern Asia. They typically inhabit open marshes, woodlands, and urban areas.

An adult pipistrelle has a body length of 3.5 to 5 centimeters, a full wing span length of 18 to 25 centimeters, and can weigh from 3 to 8 grams. The pipistrelle has dark red or brown fur on its backs and a yellowish brown underside. It typically comes out right before sunset and will eat small insects such as moths and gnats. It can eat up to several thousand insects in one night.

Even though it is the most common bat in Europe, the population of the pipistrelle bat has been declining. The decline is believed to be due to the impact of agricultural practices on the insects that the bats consume as well as habitat disruption due to cleaning and building practices in urban areas.

The cover image is from Lydekker’s Royal Natural History. The cover font is Adobe ITC Garamond. The text font is Adobe Minion Pro; the heading font is Adobe Myriad Condensed; and the code font is Dalton Maag’s Ubuntu Mono.