64 



JOCRN'Al. OF THI-; Wll I) BIRD INVESTIGATION SOCIETY. 



work on the birds ol thr Hiitisli Isles, unless It 

 supplements, corrects, or in some wjiy improves 

 the information we already possess, and whilst 

 we fail to see that the author has added much 

 to our knowledge, he has presented the account 

 of our wild bird fauna with a freshness and 

 lucidity that is not infrequently absent in works 

 of this kind, and this alone will commend it to 

 a large and growing number of students. 



To our mind it scarcely seems necessary to 

 waste valuable space on biiel notes on the CItril 

 Finch, the Black Lark, the Sardinian Warbler 

 and many other rare visitors. Had these been 

 omitted much fuller information might have been 

 given on the habits, etc., of commoner species, 

 which in not a few instances is meagre. 



Overlooking such minor matters we wekonie 

 these two little volumes, for they can scarcely 

 fail to arouse an intelligent interest in their pos- 

 sessor where hitherto a desultory indifference has 

 prevailed, and we do not hesitate to recommend 

 them to the large number of our members who 

 are commencing- the stud\ of our British wild 

 birds and their eggs. 



Through the kindness of the publishers we are 

 able to reproduce a few of the uncoloured figures 

 which speak for themselves. 



Transactions or the Norfolk and Norwich 

 Naturalists' Society. 1918-19, vol. x, pt. 

 V. 1Q20, pp. xiii + 397 — 506 + xvii. Edited 

 by the Hon. Secretary. Norwich, 1920. 



There are few local or county Natural History 

 Societies that can look back on a fifty years' 

 record of such excellent and high standing work 

 as the Norfolk and Norwich Naturalists' Society. 

 In the study of ornithology the members of this 

 society have al\\ays been regarded as one of the 

 foremost organizations in the United Kingdom, 

 and with such names as those of John H. Gurney, 

 Ivobert Gurnev and other members of this family, 

 Dr. Sydney H. Long, A. H. Patterson, C. B. 

 Ticehurst, O. \'. .Aplin, Miss E. L. Turner, and 

 many others in their midst, this is not surprising. 



The present part of the Transactions is a most 

 interesting number. j\lr. Robert Gurney 's article 

 on the Breeding Stations of the Black-headed 

 Gull in the British Isles will be welcomed by all 

 who take an interest in wild bird life, as also Mr. 

 J. H. Gurney's short account of the status and 

 breeding habits of the Shoveller Duclc. Interest- 

 ing bird notes are contributed bv Mr. .\. II. 

 Patterson, Dr. S. H. Long and Mr. H. B. 

 Riviere. 



.\ Synoptical List ov the Accipitres (Diurna! 

 Birds of Prey). By H. Kirke Swann. Pt. 

 I\', pp. 115-164, title page and index. Lon- 

 don : John W'heldon & Co. 1920. Price 4s, 



The present pari, which brings to a conclusion 

 this List, treats of the Falconinae and Pandiones, 

 and contains an index to all the genera enumer- 

 ated in the work. 



Baxter, E. \'. & Rintoi l, J^. J. — The \Mdgeon 

 as a Scottish Breeding- Species. Scot. Nat., 

 1920, pp. 33-42. 



Blackwood, G. G. — Notes on the Breeding 

 Habits of the Dotterel (Eudrotnias morin- 

 elliis) in Scothuui. Ibid., pp. 185-194. 



Clarke, W. Eagi.k. — The Attempted Breeding of 

 the Bee-eater (Merops apiaster) in Mid- 

 lothian. Ibid., pp. 151-153. 



CoLLiNGE, Walter E. — Swan Laws and Swan 

 Marks. Country Life, 1920 (Mch. 27), pp. 

 cxxii, cxxiii, figs. 



Sea-birds : Their Relation to the Fish- 

 eries and Agriculture. Nature, 1920 (Apl. 8), 

 PP- 172, 173- I %• 



The Plun-iage Bill and Bird Protection. 



Ibid. (."^pl. 15), pp. 196, 197. 



The Tern and the Scottish Fisheries 



Committee. Country Life, 1920 (May 8), 

 p. 636. 



On the Proposed new Subspecies of the 



Little Owl {Carine noctua, Scopoli). Scot. 

 Nat., 1920, pp. 69, 70. 

 The Rook : Its relation to the Farmer, 



Fruit Grower and Forester. Journ. Minis. 

 .^gric. , 1920, \o\. xxvii, pp. 868-875, 4 ^g'-'^- 

 On the Economic Status of the King- 



fisher (Alcedo ispida, Linn.). The Ibis, 1921 



(s. xi), pp. 139-150, I fig. 

 Fkildex, H. W. — Breeding of the Knot in Gren- 



nell Land. Brit. Birds, 1920, pp. 278-282, 



3 figs- 

 Gordon, Seton. — The Nesting of the Storm 



Petrel. Country Life, 1Q20 (May 15), pp- 



65.V65.S. .S fi.sis- 



