REVIEW.


British Birds, their Nests, and Eggs. By Various Well-known

Authors. (Bnimby & Clarke, Limited , Hull).


We cannot too prominently bring under the notice of our

members and their friends this new popular work on British

Birds. Books on British Birds are numerous ; but to the

aviculturist, or would-be aviculturist, the majorit}?- are of but

little value. Well do we remember—it is ancient history now—

the publications of Morris’ two grand works, “ British Birds,”

and “ Nests and Eggs of British Birds,” liow r we looked forward

to the issue of each part, and the eagerness with which we

examined and criticised its contents. Now the young—and true

aviculturists are ever young—of this country have a chance which

has not occurred for a generation, and may not come round again

for many a day. The above named work has already been

started in weekly parts at sixpence each ; and monthly parts at

two shillings each will appear, doubtless, before these lines are

printed. The whole work is to be new, which will be something

novel indeed in the bii'd-book line, as most aviculturists know

onty too well. And the book is to be unique in another way.

Not only are we promised the usual information which we

naturally look for in a large work, but it is to tell us about our

feathered friends when in captivity ; moreover, every bird, and

the egg of every bird breeding in the British Isles, are to be

illustrated. The plates of the eggs are to be coloured ; and

when a bird’s eggs vary much illustrations of several typical

specimens are to be given. The first plate has appeared ; and

the eggs are not the meaningless daubs one usually sees but

are “life-like.” The hapless lot (so far as worldly profit is

concerned) of the publisher of Morris’ Birds may well have

hindered the publishers of this work from giving coloured

plates of the birds themselves, and nothing can adequately take

their place ; nevertheless, the illustrations which have already

come out are works of art, and of real value. Different portions

of the work will be written by different authors ; to the study of

live birds may well be adapted the familiar proverb, On pent plus

fin que les autres, mais pas plus fin que tons les autres : no matter

how clever a man may be, he cannot know everything about every

bird ; so each author will take up the group with which he is

most intimately acquainted. The parts now coming out are

being written by our fellow aviculturist, Dr. Butler, of the Natural

History Museum ; but our readers need not fear that because he

comes from a Museum he must needs be an old fossil ; not only

has he thousands of birds’ skins at the Museum to fall back upon



