lie cently published Ornithological Works. 797 



in print " shalte," timbre, and rhythm, Avhich liave so much 

 importnuce in bird-music. 'British Birds' has alwaj's made a 

 special feature of photographs of birds and their nests, and in 

 the present volume will be found some beautiful reproductions 

 of photograplis of the Red-necked Phalarope in the Hebrides 

 by the Misses Best and. Haviland, the Avocet in Holland by the 

 first-named, and of Cormorants in Norfolk by Miss Turner; 

 while Miss Haviland, as a result of her travels to theYenesei, 

 describes and figures the breeding-habits of the Little Stint 

 and Curlew-Sandpiper. 



Last year an enquiry was set up in regard to the alleged 

 disappearance of the Land-Rail. A report on this subject 

 l)y Mr. H. G. Alexander confirms the increasing- rarity of 

 this bird, which has practically disappeared from all the 

 soutliern and eastern counties of England as a breeder. It 

 is difficult to give a satisfactory explanation of this, but 

 Mr. Alexander seems to think that it may be due to the 

 use of corn-cutting machines. 



Other reports are offered orr the increase or decrease of 

 our " summer residents " — a bad term this latter, summer 

 visitors, in our opinion, being much better. Mr. M. Vaughan 

 is unable to come to any very decided opinions, owing to the 

 scanty answers to the enquiries, but he does state that tiie 

 Whinchat and Redstart undoubtedly are decreasing. 



The bird-ringing report shows that there is no decrease in 

 the enthusiasm with which this enquiry is conducted. Some 

 13,000 birds were ringed during 1914, and about 3-3 per 

 cent, were recovered. Among the more interesting recoveries 

 is that of a Sandwich Tern, ringed as a nestling on the 

 Fame Islands, July 9, 1913, and recovered on the Ivory 

 Coast of West Africa, Feb. 9, 1914. 



Only one new British bird is recorded. Mr. Ford 

 Lindsay writes that two examples of Riippell's Warbler 

 [Sylvia rueppelli) were taken near Hastings on May 6, 1914. 

 This is an eastern palsearctic bird, occurring in Greece and 

 western Asia, and has never before been obtained in the 

 British Islands. 



