^OC) Book Notices and Reviews. 



" jn the plains, others visit them in the cold weather ; the majority 

 " are permanent residents of the hills. The solitary denizen of the 

 " pliMHs llic- little Minivci (J'cricioroliis pcic<;riiiii.s)— is the least re- 

 " splendent nf them all. /ts prevailing hue is slaty J^rey, but the cock 

 " has a oed breast and some red on the back. The nest is a cup, so 

 '■ smal; as to bo cither invisilile fnun below, or to present the appearance 

 " of a knot or thickenin},^ in the l)ran(h on whirli it is placed. Some- 

 " times two broods are reared in the course of the year one in March, 

 '■ April or May, and the other during the rainy season." 



" \i^RiL : April is the month in which to look for two exquisite 

 " little nests— those of the white-eye (Zosterops palpebrosa) and the 

 " ior? ( Af/rit/iiiia tipliia). \\'hite-cyes are minute greenish-yellow Ijirds 

 " with a 'conspicuous ring of white feathers round the eye. They go 

 " abouf in flocks. Each individual utters unceasingly a plaintive cheep- 

 " ing note bv means of v,-hich it keeps its fellows acquainted with its 

 " wherealiouts. '.At the breeding season, that is to say in .April and 

 ' May, the cot k sings an exceedingly sweet, but very soft lay of six or 

 "seven notes. 1 he nest is a» cup, about 2 J- inches in diameter and 

 " ^- of an inch in depth. It is usually suspended like a hammock, from 

 " the fork of a branch ; sometimes it is attai hcd to the end of a 

 " single bough ; it then looks like a ladle, the liough being the 

 " handle. It is composed of Cdbvveb, roots, hair, and other soft materials. 

 " Three or four tiny pale-blue eggs are laid." 



" The iora has ,t \ariety of calls, of these a soft and rather 

 " plaintive loiig-drawn-i.ut whistle is uttered most frequently in .\pril 

 " and May. 



" /In shape and size the nest resembles an after-dinner coffee- 

 '■ cup It is beautifully woven, and like those of the white-eye and 

 " fantai! flycatcher, covered with cobweb ; this gives it a very neat 

 " api>earance. In it are laid two or three eggs of s.ilmon hue, with' 

 " reddish-brown and juirple-grey b'otches." 



These extracts must suffice, I iiave not chosen them as being the 

 best in the liook^ but as being of sjiecial interest in members of 

 F.B.C 



on- 



Thc writer found the ])ook fascinating from cover to cover, c 



taining much that is realiy as informative to the aviculturist as to the 



ornilhologist, and. we cordially commend it to our readers as a valuable 

 addition to their library. 



