Reviews.



301



species I saw was this beautiful Bullfinch, a male and two or

three females ; but I never saw any subsequently, nor did it

appear in the bird trade.


Claret Finch. Carpodacus vinaceus, Brit. Mus. Catalogue.


This is supposed to be a Chinese bird, but it appears to

occur in the Himalayas, for our member, Mr. Eh W. Harper,

procured a live male specimen in 1892 from a consignment of

birds from the neighbourhood of Naini Tab He kindly lent it

to me for examination, and I compared it with the figure and

description in David and Oustalet’s Oiseaux de la Chive , and so

identified it without doubt. Its measurements were : 6 inches

long; bill from gape \ inch; closed wing 2'S inches ; shank fat

back), 1 inch. The beak is rather Sparrow-like, not so Bullfinch like

as in the common Rose-finch, the general colour uniform dark

crimson or claret, not striated anywhere, the abdomen paler;

there is a broad eyebrow, from eye to nape, <-f pointed pink-

tipped feathers; the wings and tail are very dai k brown, with

pink tips to the tertiaries (which quills were, however, mostly

missing in this specimen).


(To be continued).



REVIEWS.


THE MAKING OF SPECIES.* 1

It has been said by many that to keep up such celebrations

as Primrose Day, Trafalgar Day, and Empire Day shows a de¬

generation of the age, and that no ships were ever built by saying

what fine men we had in olden days, nor was any Empire made

or maintained by ‘ flag-wagging.’


No more complete reputation of this attitude of mind

could be found than the result of the Darwin celebrations of the

last two years. In commemorating the Jubilee of the ‘Origin,’

or the centenary of Darwin’s birth, scientists have rendered an

account of their stewardship during the last fifty years, and it

must be acknowledged by those not too obsessed with pet theories

that the advance has been comparatively small, and that the



By Douglas Dewar & Frank Finn. Loudon, 1909 : John Lane. 7s. 6d. net.



