JOURNAL ')|- TI!!-: \VlI.:i HIRO INVESTIllATJON S( :CIi: IV. 



45 



Irom its ylossy plumniagc resembles ihc turning 

 movements of shoalingf fish, and thus .cod, 

 pnllack, etc., are attracted to their destruction. 

 When the fish sees the " flash " it suddenly 

 turns, and, in turn, fla.shes. The bird is thus 

 ab!e to detect the fish and a chase ensues, the 

 ish sij^nalling- its course as it turns in its 

 ndeavour to escape. 



Dr. Ward i^ives some very interesting- statistics 

 A ith reference to the food of the Heron. He has 

 loted that a parent bird will return to the nest 

 .\ ith food eleven times within two hours. From 

 careful observations of the amount of food fishes 

 taken to the young in a heronry consisting of fiftv 

 nests, he estimates that the voune and old birds 



until this information is forthcoming do we 

 think it is possible to arrive at any reliable con- 

 clusion respecting the economic status of the 

 different species. Finally, we must not lose 

 sight of the fact that many of our ablest fishery 

 investigators hold the view that our fish supply 

 is inexhaustible, and what man or birds destroy 

 is insignificant. 



W'e read with much interest the account of the 

 Kingfisher. On trout waters, where minnows 

 are plentiful, it does litlle harm, for the latter are 

 easier to catch than trout fry, an observation that 

 is fully borne out by our own work on the feeding 

 habits of this beautiful bird. On fish hatcheries, 



Kmufislier lioldiiii; lliree-iiicli Rainbow Tiuut in its bill. 



consumed 45 tons of fish during the months May, 

 June, July and .August. 



A considerable portion of the book is de\oted to 

 the vexed question as tj whether our commoner 

 sea birds are injurious. Dr. Ward thinks that 

 they are, but in order to arrive at a satisfactory 

 conclusion we think much more thorough investi- 

 gation is necessary. A larger number of birds, 

 collected from various districts, and during each 

 month of the year must be examined. Volumetric 

 analyses of the stomach, etc., contents must be 

 inade, and the percentages of the different food 

 items set forth. Moreover, we must know what 

 the percentages are as a whole, for different dis- 

 tricts, and at different seasons of the vear. Xot 



however. Dr. W^ard states, this bird, like ;ii ■ 

 dabchick, can do an immense amount of damage. 



We might continue' to quote many other strik- 

 ing observations, Init space forbids; sullicient, 

 however, has been said to sliow that Dr. \\'ard 

 has written a book full of first-hand knowledge, 

 and one which cannot fail to attract a wide circle 

 of readers, for all who are interested in the ways 

 of living animals will find a fresh stimulus in 

 these pages, and their interest quickened in the 

 study of animal life. 



The illustrations, of which there are many, 

 greatly add to the \alue of the work. Through 

 the kindness of the publishers we are able to 

 icproduce a few of these. 



