320 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



been long out of print, while other and more pretentious volumes 

 on the same subject have had their share of public patronage, 

 or, it may be, are still receiving it. Of course, in the quarter of 

 a century which lias elapsed since its publication, we have come 

 to know a good deal more about birds' eggs than was then 

 dreamt of by the author. Not only have a good many species 

 new to Britain been detected and duly reported, but many 

 interesting facts concerning the nidification of some of the rarer 

 birds have come to light, and more or less modified previously 

 existing accounts of them. 



No wonder, then, that Mr. Miller Christy, in undertaking a 

 second edition of ' Birdsnesting,' has found a good deal to alter 

 and amend. As a matter of fact, he has entirely re-written the 

 book, and it is now so altered, both in size and general plan, as 

 to strike the reader as a new book. The information given under 

 the head of each species falls under three subheadings, namely, 

 Situation [of nest], Materials, and Eggs ; but while in the original 

 this is arranged systematically according to the classification 

 adopted by Yarrell, in the new edition the species are dealt with 

 alphabetically, as in Montagu's « Ornithological Dictionary.' Of 

 the two, perhaps the latter plan is the more preferable for the 

 object in view, since in this way the species sought for is more 

 readily found. 



In the way of additional information, Mr. Miller Christy's 

 little book contains a chapter on " Egg Collecting(" with a few 

 illustrations of useful implements; another on ' Birdskinning,' 

 and a third embodying the principal provisions of the Wild Birds 

 Protection Acts 1880-81. Although containing this additional 

 information, space has been so economised that the book is small, 

 and may be well slipped into the pocket as a companion in 

 country rambles. 



Mr. Christy states, in his Preface, that in carrying out the 

 work of revision it has been his endeavour, as it was that of the 

 original author, to produce a first and elementary book on Oology, 

 rather than anything else — a book suited to the needs of the 

 intelligent schoolboy rather than to those of the experienced 

 ornithologist. But whosoever may have occasion to consult it 

 will undoubtedly find, in a condensed form, a great deal of useful 

 information on the subject of which it treats. 



