New Books on Birds. 281 



pink beds as a separate ' sub-zone,' is the occurrence of a special variety of 

 Terebratiila semiglobosa, but the Tevebratula in question (a transition 

 form between T. semiglobosa and T. carnea) is by no means an uncommon 

 fossil in Lincolnshire, and in the higher beds, e.g., the Upper Chalk, it is 

 quite a characteristic form. 



Dr. Kitchin, who has kindly examined some of these specimens for me, 

 says — 



' It is probable that the name T. semiglobosa has been applied to- 

 a group of forms which is not homogenetic ; in this sense the name 

 T. semiglobosa {sensu lato) will apply to your specimen. The proper 

 classification of the zonal mutations of Ter. semiglobosa still remains 

 to be worked out. . . . The plication appears in concurrent forms 

 to have reached very varied degrees of perfection, and this suggests 

 that the character of plication has been acquired independently at 

 different times by repeated offshoots from the parent non-plicate 

 stock or stocks.' 

 As to the other fossils which the authors record as being common in 

 the Lower pink band, most, if not all are species quite common in other 

 parts of the Lincolnshire Chalk, either in the lower beds, e.g., Pecten orbicu- 

 laris, Pecten iiifiata, and Cidaris dissimilis, or in the Upper Chalk, e.g., 

 Kingena lima and PUcatitla sigillina. 



P.S. — Since writing the above I have learned through Mr. Jukes- 

 Browne, that Dr. Rowe is responsible for the identification of Ter. ornata. 

 He (Dr. Rowe) says — 



' I have no doubt whatsoever that the Ter. ornata of Roemer and 

 our abundant English form are identical.' 



The English form referred to is, of course, the one previously listed as 

 Ter. nodulosa. 



Arthur Burnet. 



NEW BOOKS ON BIRDS. 



During the past few years it has been our misfortune to have to read 

 dozens and dozens of new books on birds. In most cases they have been of 

 the ' pot-boiler ' type ; have not advanced zoological science one bit ; 

 but have obviously been written for the same reason that a stoker fills a 

 furnace. In many instances it is apparent that the author is the owner of 

 a pair of field glasses, and a book or two on birds and eggs ; is fortunate 

 enough to see a cuckoo, and at once jumps before the footlights as a second 

 Gilbert White, and simply won't be howled down! As a welcome relief 

 to this kind of thing, there now and then appears a sound piece of work ; 

 the result of years of patient study on the part of a thoroughly qualified 

 naturalist ; and a volume which at once claims a prominent position on 

 our book-shelves. Two such monographs, dealing with Kent and Cheshire 

 respectively, have recently been published by Messrs. Witherby & Co., of 

 London, who have done so much in the interests of ornithology. The 

 first, A History of the Birds of Kent, is by Norman F. Ticehurst (10/- net), 

 and contains over 600 pages, with twenty-four plates, and a map. 



It is many years since Drayton wTOte ' O famous Kent ! What county 

 hath this isle that can compare with thee ? That hath within thyself 

 as much as thou can'st wish : thy rabbits, venison, fruits, thy sorts of 

 fowl and fish, etc' ; and to-day the home of the Dartford Warbler and 

 Kentish Plover still has a fascination for the nature student. Its geogra- 

 phical position at the south-eastern corner of our island, and its nearness 

 to the Continent, from which even men can fly and land on our shores, 

 results in the avifauna being of especial interest. (The British public, 



' 1910 July I. A 



