38 The Irish Naturalist. Februarj', 



Lichen Exchange Club. 



We are glad to learn » from the receipt of a small pamphlet, the first 

 official publication of the Lichen Kxchauge Club of the British Isles, 

 that the proposal recently made by Mr. A. R. Horwood that such a club 

 should be founded, has borne fruit. There can be no doubt that in our 

 islands the study of lyicheus has been lagging behind, and if the success 

 of the Moss Exchange Club may be takeu as a guide, the foundation of 

 this Society ought to help to direct more attention lo the group. The 

 first list of members contains sixteen names, most of them of well-known 

 cryptogamic botanists. The distributor for the year is Rev. H. P. Reader. 

 Holy Cross Priory, I^eicester, and the Secretary A. R. Horwood, Iveicester 

 Corporation Muse am. 



REVIEW. 



BRITISH BIRDS. 



Birds of Britain, By J. Lewis BonhoTe, M.A., F.L.S., F.Z.S.. 

 M.B.O.U., with loo illustrations in colour selected b}^ H. E). DrEvSSER 

 from his " Birds of F)urope." London : A. & C. Black, 1907. Pp. 

 ^' + 399- Price 205-. net. 

 The appearance of Mr. Bouhote's book almost synchronizes with his 

 appointment as Secretary of the British Ornithologists' Union, and we 

 congratulate him on both events. His book will never take the place of 

 his predecCvSsor's well-known and valued "Manual," but nevertheless it 

 possesses distinct merit of its own, audit contains particulars of eighteen 

 species not included in Saunders' work, these having been added to the 

 list of our avifauna since the latter's publication. The reading of Mr- 

 Bonhote's book has given us great pleasure. The condensed descriptions 

 of the birds are usually well done, and are better than most compressed 

 accounts with which we are familiar. Written in a popular style, the 

 author shows a close personal acquaintance with all the commoner British 

 birds, and his pen-pictures of the manners and customs of many of his 

 feathered favourites are admirably done. The descriptions of the 

 scenery to be associated w' ith some of our birds are also very good and 

 are evidently written first-hand from nature. Most of the coloured 

 plates, which are taken from Dresser's " Birds of Europe," are life-like 

 and excellent (such as the Magpie and Wryneck, for example), but some 

 of them are very crude in colouration (see plates of Robin, Whitethroat, 

 Hedge-Sparrow, Wren, Tree-Creeper, Barn Owl [right figure] and Part- 

 ridge), while in plate 100, the names of the two birds figured are reversed. 

 Indeed the book shows traces of hurry in production, as it is marred by 

 a number of misprints (Orphaen, p. 44, cornata, p. 239, boschas, p. 241, 

 Shoveller, p. 245, bardi.p. 326, pheopus, p, 348, Buffous, pp. 374-5, &c., &c., 

 and at least five plates contain misprints), while in our copy eight pages 

 are inserted twice. In the dimensions, Mr. Bonhote as a rule gives 



