Book News and Reviews 



269 



and, at the same time, convey much in- 

 formation in regard to the species treated. 



The photographs support the text 

 nobly and are here far more effective than 

 drawings could possibly be. They prove 

 beyond question that Mr. Job practices 

 as well as preaches. No nesting bird is 

 beyond the reach of his camera, and in 

 making the series of pictures illustrating 

 this book, he has displayed a patience and 

 persistence beyond the conception of the 

 person who has not had some experience 

 in similar lines. The result clearly jus- 

 tifies the effort. Not only has Mr. Job 

 had the "sport" of which he writes so 

 graphically, but he has made some of the 

 best photographs of our commoner land- 

 birds which we have ever seen; and while 

 only the "young and active" may hope to 

 emulate his success with a cam.era, every 

 one who cares for birds will be interested 

 in this splendid series of bird portraits. 



The present edition of the work con- 

 tains as an appendix an annotated list 

 of the 216 species of birds which have been 

 recorded from Litchfield county. Conn. — 

 F. M. C. 



Egyptian Birds por the Most Part 

 Seen in the Nile Valley. By 

 Charles Whymper. London, Adam 

 and Charles Black, 1909. [New York, 

 The Macmillan Company.] i2mo., x-f- 

 221 pages, 51 full-page plates in color, 

 II line cuts in tint. Price, $6.50. 



Mr. Whymper writes "for the wayfaring 

 man who, traveling this ancient Egypt, 

 wishes to learn something of the birds he 

 sees." (preface.) To this end he treats 

 serially the commoner winter birds of 

 that portion of Egypt most frequently 

 visited by tourists, gives a description of 

 the plumage of each species, and devotes 

 usually two or three pages to an account 

 of its habits, haunts and manner of 

 occurrence in Egypt. 



Mr. Whymper writes largely from per- 

 sonal observation and knows his bird 

 not only in nature, but also in the glyphs 

 and myths of the passed civilization 

 which renders this region so attractive to 

 the traveler, for whom, therefore, his 

 iook possesses an especial interest. 



It is, however, through his pictures that 

 Mr. Whymper appeals most strongly. 

 He possesses an exceptional ability to 

 draw a bird in its haunts and do equal 

 justice to both. In such pictures, there- 

 fore, as those of Coots at "The Sacred 

 Lake of Karnak," Gulls on the Nile at 

 Cairo, and other species in equally au- 

 thentic if unnamed settings, he places his 

 birds in the landscape with rare skill. 

 The ornithologist may occasionally find 

 reason to query certain details of form and 

 pattern, but of' the beauty and artistic 

 excellence of these plates there can be 

 only one opinion. 



The book ends with a briefly annotated 

 list of the 356 birds of species which have 

 been recorded from Egypt. — F. M. C. 



The Calendar of the Massachusetts 

 Audubon Society 



The Massachusetts Audubon Society 

 as usual issues an attractive bird calendar 

 for the ensuing year. The birds repre- 

 sented by colored plates are the Junco, 

 Sora, Kingbird, Hermit Thrush, Screech 

 Owl, and Lapland Longspur. The ac- 

 companying text is by Mr. Ralph Hoff- 

 mann. The calendar may be purchased 

 of the secretary of the society at 234 

 Berkeley street, Boston. 



The Ornithological Magazines 



The Auk. — This serial completes its 

 twenty-sixth volume with the October 

 number, 483 pages being the year's output 

 of its indefatigable editor. While space in 

 this publication, the official journal of the 

 A. O. U., is primarily devoted to matters 

 of scientific interest, there is always some- 

 thing to occupy the attention of those who 

 feel that scientific ornithology is too deep 

 for them. Surely Dr. T. S. Roberts' 

 'A Study of a Breeding Colony of Yellow- 

 headed Blackbirds' in the current number 

 is a happy combination of the scientific 

 and the popular. The wealth of half-tones 

 that illustrate this paper save us from the 

 dangers of sunstroke and wet feet while 

 we stand face to face with the Blackbirds 



