774 Recently published Ornithological Works, [Ibis^ 



in tlie one case tethering snails to pegs in a piece of open 

 ground and listing those which were taken by the Thrushes, 

 and in the other case counting and sorting the shells found 

 at certain anvils, with tlie idea of discovering whether one 

 particular variation of Helix nemoralis was preferred to 

 another. 



Miss Pittas experiments were done with a young Thrush 

 hand-reared from the nest, in order to find out if the " anvil- 

 habif was instinctive or acquired. 



The conclusions were reached that the selection of snails 

 by Thrushes is entirely haphazard, but that many-banded 

 varieties oi H. nemoralis w eve more abundant in shady bushy 

 places while Tlirushes preferred more open feeding-grounds, 

 so that there was a higher proportion of unhanded shells 

 at certain " anvils." Miss Pitt concluded that the young 

 thrush does not recognize and crack snail-shells in- 

 stinctively, but each individual learns to do so by personal 

 experience. 



Mathews' Birds of Australia. 



[Tlie Birds of Australia. By Gregory M. Mathews. Vol. vii. pt. v. 

 pp" 385-500 + i-xii, pis. 308-370. London (VVitherby), July 1919. 4to.] 



Possibly the most important information in this part will 

 be, to most ornithologists, that contained in the two 

 Appendices, one giving a list of works containing "all 

 the new names/' and the other consisting of a dissertation 

 on the dates of a large number of ornithological treatises. 

 So important are the items in the latter that, in our opinion, 

 they are quite out of place in this book, and should have been 

 published separately. As it is, they will probably he over- 

 looked by those not specially concerned with Australian 

 Birds, and the object of Mr. Mathews' careful compilation 

 will thus not be attained. Otherwise we have nothing but 

 praise for his perseverance and energy in the matter. 



With regard to the preface to the volume, we quite 

 agree that much controversial matter has been under dis- 

 cussion, but we are not so confident as the author that 



