152 



BE VIEWS OF BOOKS. 



[Dec, 



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Familiar Wild Birds. By W. Swaysland. First Series. With 

 Coloured Plates. Cassell and Co., London, Paris, and New York. 

 1883. 



The great and deserved popularity of those really beautiful publica- 

 tions, * Familiar Wild Flowers ' and ' Familiar Garden Flowers,' 

 doubtless suggested the charming volume before' us. Let us say at 

 once that we have seen no illustrations of v/ild birds that equal the 

 merit of these. They are in truth exquisite delineations, and author 

 and publishers are entitled to the highest praise for the production 

 of so delightful a volume. The author says in his preface : ' How 

 much the charm of country life is due to the song of the birds, it is 

 very difficult to realise. And still less generally known is the 

 wonderful variety of bird life in even hyper-civilised England. By 

 many a country lad every hole and every bird seen is alike known 

 and recognised, but to many of those whose daily walks are limited 

 to the stone pavements of our large cities, save that they probably 

 know a robin and a sparrow when they see either, a bird is simply 

 " a bird " and no more. To portray the many varieties of birds which 

 yet visit, breed in, and live in England, to describe their haunts, 

 habits, eggs, and appearance, is therefore a pleasant task which may 

 perchance add many a fresh charm to their brief experiences of 

 life.* How excellently Mr. Swaysland has accomplished the task he 

 has set himself, a glance at this first instalment of his book will 

 sulhce to show. The illustrations are, of course, the prominent feature 

 of the book. Tliese include exquisite figures of the following birds : 

 goldfinch, magpie, bullfinch, starling, chafiinch, raven, linnet, rook, 

 common wren, jay, house sparrow, jackdaw, common grouse, kestrel, 

 robin, redpoll, ringdove, wryneck, golden-crested wren, white-throat, 



