m/TW5 



A Naturalist's Sketch Book. By Archibald Thorburn. (Longmans.) 

 24 Plates in colour, 36 in collotype. £6 6s. net. 



This book is an altogether delightful supplement to Mr. Thorburn's 

 British Birds — a thickly crowded gallery of portraits. Here we have 

 the pick of the artist's sketch book finely reproduced. Some are finished 

 drawings, others are mere sketches of characteristic poses, and so on, 

 and oJten these are even more charming than the finished pictures. 

 All the sketches have life, and although some are reminiscent of the 

 " Zoo," most bring one back to the wild. We like the little graphic 

 notes here and there showing detail of feathers, bills or feet, and although 

 these do not compare with such things by Wolf, nevertheless Mr. 

 Thorburn has the master's hand. We think Mr. Thorburn is perhaps 

 happiest amongst the Grouse and Ducks, and we also particularly like 

 some of the Mammals depicted in some of the plates at the end of the 

 volume. We feel sure that all those who are fortunate enough to 

 become possessors of Mr. Thorburn's Sketch Book will spend many happy 

 half hours with it. 



A Geographical, Bibliography of British Ornithology from the earliest 

 times to the end of 1918. By W. H. Mullens, H. Kirke Swann, 

 and Rev. F. C. R. Jourdain. Part I., 1919. (To be completed 

 in six bi-monthly parts at 6s. per part.) Witherby & Co. 



This is the sequel to A Bibliography of British Ornithology from the 

 earliest times to the end of 1912 by W. H. Mullens and H. Kirke Swann, 

 which was published in 1916-17. We are glad to see that in the work 

 now under review the services of the Rev. F. C. R. Jourdain have been 

 co-opted, for we are certain that this triumvirate comprises the three 

 greatest experts as regards the study of the bibliography concerning 

 British birds. 



The book is not one to pick up for light reading but is pureh' a book 

 of reference and as such may at once be described as invaluable. 

 The object of the authors has been to collect, under counties, all the 

 references to information concerning birds which have occurred in 

 each particular county. These references are often to unexpected 

 publications and to magazines, such as the Field, which have no 

 indexes. The work is worthy of the highest praise : no public library 

 should be without a copy and no student of the insular geographical 

 distribution of British birds can afford to ignore it. 



All authors of county histories of birds will appreciate the amount 

 of labour and erudite research which this book must have cost its 

 ccmpilers ; anyone who may contemplate writing the history of the 

 birds of any particular locality will find in it a guide to obscure references 

 which he might, had it not been published, have overlooked. 



We have not as yet discovered any errors or omissions but we feel 

 bound to refer to the arrangement of the book which we fear may make 

 it difficult to consult. The alphabetical sequence of the counties 

 continues throughout with no break and there is no key (which might 

 well have been given in the head of every right-hand page) to the 

 contents of each opening. This fault should be in part remedied by 



