102 Bibliographical Notices. 
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES. 
Bird-Life of the Borders: Records of Wild Sport and Natural 
History on Moorland and Sea. By Anet Cuapman. Gurney and 
Jackson. London, 1889. 
““Goop 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 volume 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 Ralph Payne-Gallwey did for the sister island 
with his ‘ Fowler in Ireland, while ornithologists have thoroughly 
appreciated the keen insight displayed in the description of the 
habits, food, changes of plumage, &e. of the birds which frequent 
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 Spain 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 
so 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 Jand 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 fur 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 ” 
