2^oofe ^etug anti CteiJietos; 



Game Birds of California. By Joseph 

 Grinnell, Harold Child Bryant, 

 and Tracy Irwin Storer. University 

 of California Press, Berkeley, Calif., 

 1918. Large 8vo., 642 pp., 16 colored 

 plates and 94 text figures. 



About four-fifths of this volume con- 

 sists of a systematic treatment, species by 

 species, of the Ducks, Geese and Swans, 

 Ibises, Cranes, Rails, etc., shore-birds, 

 gallinaceous birds and Pigeons of the state 

 of California. For each species there is a 

 description of size and color, marks for 

 field identification, voice, nest and eggs, 

 general distribution, and distribution in 

 California, followed by a running narra- 

 tive taking up habits, use as game, econo- 

 mic status, etc. Sixteen full-page colored 

 plates are by Louis Agassiz Fuertes and 

 Allan Brooks; 94 excellent text figures are 

 mostly of bills, feet, etc., and nineteen 

 tables relate to such matters as the taking 

 and sale of game, and nesting of certain 

 species. 



Introductory chapters treat of the de- 

 crease of game, natural enemies of game 

 birds, sportsmen's game preserves and gun 

 clubs, introduction of non-native birds, 

 propagation of game birds, legislation rela- 

 tive to game birds in California, and there 

 is sufficient information concerning tech- 

 nical terms and methods to facilitate the 

 use of the descriptive portion of the book. 

 As regards the decrease of game, it is esti- 

 mated that "waterfowl and upland game 

 birds have both, on the average, decreased 

 by fully one-half within the past forty 

 years. Very likely the reduction totals 

 much more in many individual species.' 

 Many causes have led to this decrease "but 

 all are due in last analysis to the settlement 

 of the state by the white man. Some of 

 these factors, such as excessive hunting 

 and sale of game, are subject to control; 

 but others, such as reclamation of land, 

 and overhead wires, are inevitable." 



We learn from the preface that the in- 

 ception of the work dates from 191 2, when 

 it was decided that the staff of the Califor- 



nia Museum of Vertebrate Zoology should 

 actively interest itself in the conservation 

 of the native fauna. A study of the situ- 

 ation soon led to the conclusion that, as 

 regards game birds, what was needed was 

 not more numerous nor more stringent 

 game laws so much as a better knowledge 

 of these birds and the necessity of conserv- 

 ing them among sportsmen and by the 

 public. 'Game Birds of California' has 

 been prepared as a manual of such infor- 

 mation for all the various persons who, 

 for one reason or another, have an interest 

 in these birds. We may safely say that it 

 is a most useful work for this purpose, and 

 that the mass of facts which it presents is 

 admirably arranged for reference. Com- 

 pared to conditions in eastern states, game 

 birds are still abundant in California, and 

 it is to be hoped that this book will form a 

 basis for their intelligent preservation, in 

 maximum numbers compatible with fur- 

 ther settlement of the country. 



A mass of information has been brought 

 together from which the student of birds 

 will derive much profit and pleasure, and 

 those of scientific turn of mind will be 

 gratified by the absolutely unbiased man- 

 ner in which all the facts are presented. 

 We would recommend especially to the 

 consideration of all sportsmen the chapter 

 on 'Natural Enemies of Game Birds,' as 

 there has, of late, been evident in this 

 country a regrettable tendency towards 

 the indiscriminate destruction of Hawks, 

 etc., borrowed from methods used on 

 foreign preserves which are little more 

 than farms for the artificial propagation of 

 game birds, a procedure ill-adapted to 

 conservation over a wider, freer territory. 



The colored plates are all of a high 

 standard — real contributions to the pub- 

 lished portraits of American birds — but 

 the ones of Mallard and Widgeons by 

 Fuertes and that of the Surf-bird by Brooks 

 stand out preeminently for their excellence. 

 In the general descriptions of transient 

 shore-birds, the authors show a lack of 



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