Book News and Reviews 
of this eminently original and profound 
contribution to our knowledge of the 
subject; and, whether or not Thayer’s 
theories replace all those which have been 
long current, his discoveries have already 
revolutionized our views of what con- 
stitutes concealing coloration in the 
animal kingdom.—F. M. C. 
Our SEARCH FOR A WILDERNESS; AN 
Account oF Two ORNITHOLOGICAL 
EXPEDITIONS TO VENEZUELA AND TO 
British Gurana. By Mary Btrair 
BEEBE and C. WiLLiAM BEEBE. Henry 
Holt & Co. New York. 1910. 8vo., xix 
+408 pages, 157 half-tones, 3 line cuts. 
Mr. and Mrs. Beebe are to be con- 
gratulated on their success in sharing 
their delight in the life of a tropical wilder- 
ness with their readers; and, where one’s 
enthusiasm is kept constantly at the 
boiling point, it is no small satisfaction 
to feel that you have conveyed some of 
your pleasure to an appreciative audience. 
But the authors of this volume have 
done more than this, for their studies of 
tropical life have added not a little to our 
knowledge of the habits of many of the 
animals, chiefly birds, which they en- 
countered. The more technical results 
of their two trips have appeared in the 
publications of the New York Zodlogical 
Society, where also their collections were 
deposited, and we have here the narrative 
of their adventures, told in a manner to 
fire the ardor of the young naturalist, 
keen to experience the marvels of the 
tropics, as well as to arouse the interest 
of those who, less venturesome, would 
gain their knowledge of tropical life at 
second hand. 
The book abounds in half-tones from 
photographs, which illustrate the country 
traversed and many of its inhabitants.— 
F. M. C. 
A LasBrapor Sprinc. By Caries W. 
TownsEenD, M.D. Dana, Estes & Co. 
I2mo. xl+262 pages, 55 half-tones. 
This is the pleasantly written account 
of a five-weeks’ trip to southern Labrador, 
in May and June, 1909. Although the 
study of bird life was Dr. Townsend’s 
155 
chief object, the human life of the region 
came in for no small part of his attention. 
Of especial interest are his observations 
on the development of a Labrador spring, 
and the chapter on “‘The Courtships of 
Some Labrador Birds.”’ He remarks on 
the conspicuousness of the male Eider, 
from whatever viewpoint it be seen, and 
the fact that this bird assumes the plu- 
mage, in part, of the female during the 
flightless period of its molt, might be 
interpreted as an admission on the part 
of nature that the full male attire zs con- 
spicuous. 
In commenting on modern methods of 
bird study, Dr. Townsend writes: ‘‘Nowa- 
days, there is no excuse for the beginner 
to use a gun, and there is no need of 
multiplying collections of bird-skins, but 
it should be impressed on all bird-students 
—and their name is legion, both masculine 
and feminine—that it is far better to be 
silent or confess ignorance than to affirm 
knowledge, unless that knowledge is 
based on sound observation.”—F. M. C. 
CATALOGUE OF CANADIAN Birps. By 
Joun Macouwn, Naturalist to the Geo- 
logical Survey, Canada. and JAmrs M. 
Macowun, Assistant Naturalist to the 
Geological Survey, Canada, Ottawa; 
Government Printing Bureau. 1909. 
8yo., pages viliq+-761-++ xviii. 
Treating of a part of North America 
in which many birds find the northern 
limit of their range, the first edition of this 
‘Catalogue’ proved in practice to be a 
faunal work of exceptional value. We can, 
therefore, welcome in no uncertain way 
this revised edition of it, which we are 
glad to find appears in one volume instead 
of three. 
In this revised and enlarged edition, 
that veteran Canadian naturalist, John 
Macoun, has associated with him as joint 
author, his son, and not a small portion of 
the original data here presented is based 
on the combined field work of these two 
naturalists. Here too, are included the 
notes of William Spreadborough, who, as 
a field agent and collector, has been in 
the employ of the Survey since 1889. In 
addition, therefore, to eight abstracts of 
