VOL vn.] REVIEWS. 241 



Peregrine Falcon is the larger — and he is evidently very- 

 anxious to know. But Dr. Heatherley's ignorance of 

 scientific ornithology and consequent failure to discriminate 

 between useful and useless collectors, may well be forgiven 

 for the sake of his superb photographs, most of which are 

 not only most beautiful, but at the same time portray 

 actions and poses which it is valuable to have recorded. 



Dr. Lowe is eminently fitted, by reason of his many 

 cruises and facile pen, to give a popular account of sea- 

 birds. In the book under notice (which is the first of two 

 volumes on the subject) he appears, however, to be labouring 

 somewhat at a disadvantage, as^the numerous photographs 

 are rather obviously the raison d'' etre of the book, and occupy 

 considerably more space than the letterpress. As a con- 

 sequence, perhaps, of this arrangement the letterpress, 

 though pleasant and informing, is somewhat lacking in 

 originality. But Dr. Lowe is not responsible for the whole 

 book, a good many chapters being provided by a number 

 of other writers. Amongst these Mr. W. R. Ogilvie-Grant 

 discusses the sequence of plumages in the Cormorant, and 

 reiterates his opinion that the birds with white breasts are 

 invariably birds in their first year, and that in the second 

 year the breast is " glossy-black, more or less mottled with 

 white." Notwithstanding Mr. Grant's assertions to the 

 contrary, we venture to say that it will be found on 

 further investigation that a Common Cormorant with 

 a white breast is not necessarily a bird in its first year's 

 plumage. H.F.W. 



