68o 



NATURE 



[November ro, 1923 



and «ucccf<Ud in getting some excellent photographs, 

 lie nlwiivs cntcTcd the hide accomiNinied by his wife, 

 who prtsijitly left it, rowing away from the island. 



'* It is useless to enter any hiding-tent unless one is 

 accompanied by a companion, and unless that com- 

 puniim (kjMirts as ostentatiously as |X)ssible. .Ml birds 



Kni. a. — The wild cat — expressions of the emoiioii;.. 

 I. Sulky, a. Angry. 3. Furious. 

 From "Shetlaml Pirates and other Wild Life Studies." 



can count one, but very few more than one ; so a human 

 figure leaving their nest stills their suspicions and 

 causes them to return without delay, provided they 

 have become accustomed to the presence of the hiding- 

 tent, which should, if possible, be erected a few days 

 previously." 



Beasts as well as birds came under the author's 

 scrutiny. The incident of a rabbit pursuing and 

 NO. 28 I Q. VOL I I 2I 



dtiving away a stoat reminds n. 

 evening, a large rat was driven close tu iii% nn i>n 

 rabbit— presumal)ly a doe protecting her young— w a 

 sei/X'd and severely shaken, and limped away squealinL.- 



It surprises one that Mr. Gordon, who is at pains t.. 

 defend the character of merlins, ravens and other birds 

 of ravin, should repeat without comment what on« 

 would fain to l)e calumny against the dipper— CiW/»/i 

 aqualicus. " It is said to do much harm when th» 

 sta-trout are spawning " (p. 51). We have thi 

 authority of the late Prof. Newton to the eflfen tl..- 

 " innumerable examinations of the contents 

 stomach have not only proved that the charge \>>\ 

 devouring the ova of fishes] is baseless, but tliat t! > 

 bird clears of! many of the worst enet; 

 precious product." 



Mr. Gordon takes good note of tVi< nlants th- 

 in the waste places which he lo\ 's 

 recorded correctly as Sedum rhodiola on p. 2 1, an 

 the obsolete title Rhodiola rosea on p. 56. The il. 

 ions throughout are admirable. The black-back« ■ ! 

 gulls, most ruthless of marauders. ' ' 

 doves in Fig. i. 



(2) The title of Miss Frances Pitt's volume ' Shetland 

 Pirates " is reminiscent of Magnus Troil and hb 

 daughters Minna and Brenda, but it is of feathered 

 pirates only that she has to tell, namely, the great 

 skua or bonxie — Stercorarius skua — and Richardson's 

 skua or scootie — S. parasiticus. No doubt they live 

 mainly by piracy, harr}ing gulls so cruelly that these 

 have to disgorge their catch, and robbing the nests 

 of other birds ; but Miss Pitt charitably thinks that 

 both species do occasionally fish honestly on their own 

 account. These rapacious birds are described in the 

 first chapter ; each of the remaining chapters recording 

 the author's observation of other birds and beasts, 

 both in captivity and in the wild. She tells us how she 

 used to declare that " there was no animal so wild that 

 it could not be tamed by patience and kindness 

 hut her experience with a true wild csit—Felis silvestns 

 —which she received as a kitten from Inverness-shire 

 brought her to a different opinion, namely, that none 

 of that species can be tamed or trained (Fig. 2). 



One of Miss Pitt's most charming chapters deals with 

 stoats and weasels ; but I feel unable to share her 

 doubts about the purpose of the white winter pelage 

 assumed by both these little carnivores in northern 

 regions, and by the stoat in parts of Great Britain. 

 She cites the black tag on the stoat's tail as evidence 

 against that purpose being protective coloration; 

 but it is surely not more conspicuous than the white 

 scut in the general protective colour of a rabbit. Miss 

 Pitt's suggestion that a white coat better enables an 

 animal to endure cold than a dark one receives no 



