ROOK NOTICES 175 



BOOK NOTICES. 



Wild Life in Canada, By Captain Angus Buchanan. London : 

 John Murray. Price 15s. net. 



Though much has Ijeen written about the animal hfe of the Arctic 

 zone of Canada, yet comparatively little has been published relating to the 

 zoology of the sub-Arctic belt lying to the south of it. It was to remedy 

 this deficiency in our knowledge that Captain Buchanan explored the 

 almost unknown regions of Eastern Athabasca drained by the Churchill 

 River. With a lumber-jack as his companion he performed a remark- 

 able canoe voyage of over 1000 miles down rivers flowing through 

 primeval forests, and a land journey of nearly Soo miles in a dog-sleigh 

 over snow and ice. His experiences in this wilderness are related in a 

 very attractive manner, and the fact of his being an enthusiastic naturalist 

 and sportsman, has enabled him to add much that is interesting about 

 the numerous species of birds, and the mammals, and fishes which came 

 under his notice. Having reached Lake I)u Brochet he had arranged 

 to spend the winter there, but hearing of the outbreak of the Great War 

 he felt it his duty to return and serve his country. He enlisted as a 

 private, rose to the rank of captain, and was awarded the Military Cross. 

 In spite of the arduous wrk the journeys entailed, the author made a 

 large and valuable collection of birds. The book, which is illustrated by 

 numerous pictures from the author's photographs, is one of the most 

 interesting of its kind that has appeared in recent years. 



The Buzzard at Home. By Arthur Brook. With 12 photo- 

 graphic plates. London : Witherby & Co. Price 3s. 6d. net. 

 This is an account of the home-life of a pair of Buzzards which had 

 their nest in Central Wales, where, it is gratifying to learn, this bird has 

 shown a marked increase in its numbers during the last two or three 

 years. This particular pair had their nest in a most difficult situation 

 on a ( liff, and it required some ingenuity to form a suitable hiding-place 

 from which to observe and photograph them, for Buzzards are very 

 suspicious birds, and, according to our author, have a keen sense of 

 smell. These difllcultics were overcome and a set of pictures obtained 

 of the old birds and then" young. The letterpress gives a detailed and 

 interesting account of the behaviour of both old and young and the 

 nature of the food brought to the nest. Considering the difficult con- 

 ditions under which the photographs were obtained the plates are good. 



Cambridge County Handbooks: (i) Dumharto7tshire, by F. 

 Mort, D.Sc, M.A., etc.; (2) Orkney and Shetland, by J. G. F. 

 Moodie Heddle and T. Maitland; (3) Caithness and Suther- 

 land, by H. F.Campbell, M.A., B.L. ; (4) Kirkcudbrightshire 

 and Wigtmvnshire, by William Learmonth. Cambridge 

 University Press. Price 4s. 6d. net each. 



With these four welcome additions the well-known series of Cam- 



