102 Bihtiograpliical Notices. 



BIELIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 



Bird-Life of the Borders: Records of Wild Sport and Natural 

 Historij on Moorland and Sea. By Abel Chapman. Giirney and 

 Jackson. London, 1889. 



" CtOoi> wine needs no bush," and we have noticed with satisfaction 

 that, although reviewers may play for safety when they are not 

 sure of their subject as regards an indifferent book, they show a 

 wonderfully quick appreciation for one which is thoroughly good. 

 The present volunae is a case in point, for the author is at once a 

 true sportsman and naturalist as well as an artist of no mean ability, 

 though no allusion to the numerous spirited illustrations appears on 

 the titlepage. From all sides comes the chorus of praise ; expe- 

 rienced wild-fowlers considering that, in the portion of the work 

 relating to the gunning-punt, Mr. Chapman has done for the north of 

 England what Sir Kalph Payne-Gallwey did for the sister island 

 with his ' Fowler in Ireland,' while ornithologists have thoroughly 

 appreciated the keen insight displayed in the deserii)tion of the 

 habits, food, changes of plumage, &c. of the birds which f'recjuent 

 the moorland and the coast. When treating of these, Mr. Chapman 

 introduces from time to time some pertinent and interesting remarks 

 upon his experiences in Si)ain and Spitsbergen — the southern and the 

 northern extremities of Europe, if, indeed, the latter can be claimed 

 as an appanage by any continent ; and his personal observations over 

 60 wide an area are entitled to a respectful reception, but he must 

 beware of accepting too readily, or at too high a value, the plausible 

 hypotheses of others, and he must try to avoid the youthful fault of 

 generalizing upon imperfect evidence. In asking such questions as 

 *' Where do the Common [Bar-tailed] Godwit, Knot, Sanderling, 

 and Curlew-Sandpiper breed ? Whence come they in myriad hosts 

 every August to our shores ? " he hardly seems to realize the enor- 

 mous extent of the known but almost unexplored land which lies 

 within the Arctic Circle. No doubt some large islands are as yet 

 undiscovered, especially to the northward of Bering Sea ; but we 

 need not go so far as that for " tundras " sufficient for the repro- 

 duction of all the above species. It is true that neither Spitsbergen 

 nor Novaya Zemlya appear to be suited to their requirements ; but 

 the little that is known of Franz-Josef Land does not altogether 

 justify its being placed in the same category, for the climatic con- 

 ditions of that territory are exceptional, open water existing 

 throughout the winter ; and Mr. Leigh Smith actually found Briin- 

 nich's Guillemot assembled there early in March ! As regards the 

 Bar-tailed Godwit, Mr. Chapman takes exception to the name 

 because, he says, " its tail is not barred except in the young ; " but 

 therein he goes too far, for the adults in breeding-plumage — hardly 

 known in Northumberland — have the true tail-feathers distinctly 

 banded. The name was not, however, conferred by the unobservant 

 pedant or the cabinet naturalist ; it was given by practical sports- 

 men and wildfowlers, who distinguished a bird as '• bar-tailed " 



