252 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST 



rump still partly in quill, while as many as six out of ten of 

 the British form, P. m. occidentalism showed signs of body 

 moult; and in addition a male from the Isle of May on 

 7th October 191 2 had one tail feather partly in quill and 

 about three-quarters grown. 



As we have examined so many specimens, it is obviously 

 impossible to describe the condition of each one, but we 

 have tried to give a representative few. It would seem 

 that some species of Passerine birds are more liable than 

 others to migrate before the moult is completed, and that 

 even the long over-seas journey from the Continent is 

 frequently undertaken before the new plumage is fully 

 developed. We would reiterate that the above remarks 

 do not profess to be a paper on moult that we leave to 

 others better qualified than ourselves ; they are merely some 

 observations on the state of plumage of birds taken while 

 performing their migration journeys. 



BOOK NOTICE. 



Common British Beetles. By Rev. Charles A. Hall, F.R.M.S. 

 London : Adam & Charles Black, 1914. Price is. 6d. net. 



This little volume is one of the "Peeps at Nature" series, and 

 forms an admirable introduction to the study of our native Coleoptera. 

 It is principally intended to aid the young collector in the identification 

 of his captures, and to this end the bulk of the book consists of careful 

 descriptions, in simple language, and in systematic order, of the 

 commoner species. The various families under which the species are 

 grouped are also simply diagnosed. The book is embellished with 8 full- 

 page plates in colour, 15 in black and white from photographs, and 5 

 text-figures. They are all excellent, and since upon the coloured plates 

 we find no fewer than 140 figures representing the species described in 

 the text an idea can be gained of the usefulness of this remarkably cheap 

 volume. Chapter I. gives a general elementary account of the structure 

 of beetles, and serves principally to explain the descriptive terms used 

 in the following chapters. Chapter II. is devoted to an account of the 

 habits of certain selected forms, while Chapter IV. gives some useful 

 practical hints respecting collection and preservation. 



