38 THE ORNITHOLOGIST. 



are several forms of the Jer-Falcon, which, according to the views of different 

 authorities, are regarded as one species, or described as distinct and regarded 

 as the Jer-Falcon, the Greenland Falcon, and the Iceland Falcon respectively. 

 Neither can be regarded as British, though specimens of each have accident- 

 ally occurred in the British Isles." Possibly the true Gyr-Falcon may be 

 regarded as non-British, but I have hitherto been of the opinion that the 

 frequent occurrences of the two latter species decidedly entitled them to a 

 place in the British list. Still these are but differences of opinion, and they 

 scarcely detract from the value of this attractive and popular work. It is to 

 be completed in eighteen monthly parts, containing 248 plates, "chiefly 

 coloured by hand " ; the March part includes twelve of these. H. K. S. 



British Birds' Nests: How, Where and When to Find and Identify Them, 

 by R. Kearton. Introduction by R. Bowdler Sharpe, LL.D. Illustrated 

 from Photographs by C. Kearton. (London: Cassell& Co., Ltd.) Price 21s. 



Although I do not find a great deal of originality in the letterpress of 

 this volume, I must allow that the author has given us a useful sketch of 

 the plumage, nidification, etc., of all our commoner birds, the arrangement 

 being alphabetically — on the lines of Montagu's Dictionary. The chief 

 interest of the work, however, lies in the capital illustrations, which are 

 nearly 130 in number. These are reproductions of photographs of nests and 

 eggs, taken in situ, and many of them are most admirable and more or less 

 unique. There is a wide difference between these charming illustrations and 

 the stiff, unnatural woodcuts with which many natural history books of the 

 popular kind have hitherto been adorned. It is a work, in fact, which 

 should be in tne possession of every bird-lover, scientific or otherwise. 



H. K. S. 



NOTES AND NEWS. 



Dr. Paul Leverklihn, Director of the Scientific Institutes and Library of 

 H.R.H. the Prince of Bulgaria, sends us a copy of his " Vogelschuk in 

 England," dealing with the various Legislative Acts for the Protection of 

 Wild Birds, and also the work done by private individuals in the same 

 direction. That it is a very carefully prepared brochure is evidenced by the 

 numerous references to the literature and periodicals which have relation to 

 the subject. 



An oider has been made by the Home Secretary, which prohibits the 

 taking or destroying of the eggs of the following species of wild birds 

 throughout the administrative county of Durham : — Blackheaded Gull, 

 Common Buzzard, Kestrel, Merlin, Owls (all species), Bittern, Curlew, 

 Dipper, Dotterel, Dunlin, Golden Plover, Goldfinch, Heron, Hawfinch, 

 Kingfisher, Martins (all species), Nightjar, Nuthatch, Pied Flycatcher, 



