BOOK NOTICES 127 



counties in Great Britain that can equal Kent in the attractions it 

 offers to feathered inhabitants, and none can surpass it for the 

 observation of migratory visitors. It has a diversified surface 

 offering suitable haunts to a great variety of species for the rearing 

 of their broods ; while its geographical position in relation to the 

 Continent renders it unique for witnessing the comings and goings 

 of hosts of seasonal migrants and casual visitors. That such a 

 county should have produced many bird-men in the past is not 

 surprising, but it has been left, we may say fortunately left, to Dr. 

 Ticehurst to treat of its avifauna in a way that does full justice to its 

 importance. As a history, the author has based his book upon an 

 exhaustive examination of the abundant literature at his disposal. 

 The nature of the edifice to be raised on such substantial founda- 

 tions, however, entirely depends upon the author's personal experi- 

 ences, for these alone must determine its attractive qualities and its real 

 worth. That Dr. Ticehurst possesses these essential qualifications 

 to an eminent degree is manifest throughout the volume. In an 

 excellent introduction the topography of the county is well described, 

 the nature of its avifauna discussed, migration in all its varied 

 aspects treated of, and the work of other authors alluded to. Then 

 follows the systematic portion of 557 pages wherein the 312 

 species (excluding doubtful ones), of Kentish birds are admirably 

 reviewed. We have studied most of the books devoted to British 

 topographical ornithology, and in our opinion the " Birds of Kent " is 

 second to none of them. The volume is well got up, the illustrations, 

 which are mainly from photographs of bird haunts, are very 

 appropriate, while an orographical map of the county affords a 

 useful appendix to a volume which is in every way well worthy of 

 the patronage of British ornithologists. 



BRITISH WARBLERS : A HISTORV, WITH PROBLEMS OF THEIR 

 LIVES. By H. Eliot Howard, F.Z.S., M.B.O.U. Illustrated by 

 Henrich Gronvold. Part IV. London, R. H. Porter. 2 is. net. 



It has been our pleasure to speak in the highest terms of praise 

 of the previous parts of this entirely original and beautiful work. 

 The part before us fully maintains the high standard, as regards both 

 letterpress and plates, of those previously issued. The species now 

 treated of are the Common and Lesser Whitethroats, the Greenish 

 Willow Warbler, and the Siberian Chiff Chaff, to whose portraits and 

 actions ten plates are allocated, while another plate contains 

 excellent figures of the eggs of a number of species. We are 

 glad to see that Mr. Howard, following in the footsteps of Prof. 

 Newton, Mr. Howard Saunders, and other leading authorities, is 

 including the more uncommon species as British Warblers. The 

 question of what is a British species has, in our opinion, long ago 

 been determined by the findings of the authors of the standard works 

 on British Birds, and Mr. Howard's beautiful plates will help to 



