30 Reviews


Equally interesting is the first part of a paper by Mr. Harrison F.

Lewis on the nesting of the Philadelphia Vireo (Vireosylva

philadelphica). This is couched in the form of a diary of observations

extending from June 11 to July 3, 1919, and the facts recorded attest

a degree of perseverance and patience on the part of the observer which

will appeal to all lovers of wild birds. Mr. H. Mousley continues his

notes on the birds of Hatley, Stanstead Co., Quebec, adding five species

to the list published in 1918'; and Mr. Horace W. Wright publishes the

known records of the occurrence of the Bohemian Waxwing (Bombycilla

(jarrula) in New England, frequently in the company of the Cedar

Waxwing {Bombycilla cedrorum). Other papers dealing with systematic

ornithology call for no special notice ; but it may be added that the

part concludes with more than twenty pages of general notes on

American birds and with reviews of recent literature.



Early Annals of Ornithology. By J. H. Gurney, F.Z.S. London :

H. F. & G. Witherby. 1921. Price 12s. 6r/. net.


Members of the Avicultural Society familiar with Mr. J. H. Gurney's

book on the Gannet will not be disappointed with his latest achievement,

Early Annals of Ornithology. Starting in the first chapter with the

prehistoric sketches left by men of the early and later Stone Ages, the

pictures of ancient Egypt and the bas-reliefs of Babylon, with references

to the written records in the Bible and classical literature, Mr. Gurney

deals in order with the centuries of the Christian era, telling us about

the birds known in Britain to the Komans, Saxons, and Picts, and so

on down to the eighteenth century, finishing up with Pennant. There

are numerous quotations from ancient writers and many reproductions

of old engravings, and naturally there is a good deal to be said about

hawking in the past ; but perhaps, if a selection be made, the most

interesting section of the book is the chapter dealing with the history

of the Crane, Bustard, Spoonbill, and Bittern in Great Britain, a chapter

sandwiched in between those treating of the sixteenth and seventeenth

centuries.


From what has been said it may be inferred that the bibliographical

work involved in the compilation of the volume has been considerable,



