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NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS. 



Bombay Ducks ; an Account of some of the Every -day Birds and 

 Beasts found in a Naturalist's Eldorado. By Douglas 

 Dewar, F.Z.S., &c. John Lane. 



The chapters which compose this most readable and vivacious 

 book are reprints of articles, mostly on Indian birds, which have 

 appeared in the Indian press, and cannot fail to be enjoyable to 

 those numerous readers who desire entertaining natural history, 

 for there is not a dull page, and all is, in journalistic phrase, 

 " good copy." But the careful reader will find scattered here 

 and there much weighty contribution to current evolutionary 

 thought, for Mr. Dewar is not a blind follower of theoretical 

 opinion, and can think on these matters for himself. Thus, as 

 regards the theory of protective coloration as applied to birds' 

 eggs, our author considers this has been carried much too far, and 

 that in many cases the protection is derived from the pugnacity 

 of the defenders of the nest, for under such circumstances a Great 

 Kite will fly ignominiously from a pair of diminutive King-Crows, 

 and we read that " an ounce of good solid pugnacity is a more 

 useful weapon in the struggle for existence than many pounds 

 of protective colouring." Again, with reference to the whitish 

 colour of so many eggs which are found in nests concealed in 

 holes, &c, Mr. Dewar has a theory of his own: "If a bird 

 nest in a dark place, it is important that its eggs should be 

 as conspicuous as possible, for a bird cannot count, and if the 

 hen is unable to see her eggs, she will not be able to tell when 

 some of them get separated from the others" ; and this prompts 

 his opinion " that natural selection has caused the eggs of birds 

 which nest in holes to become white." 



As regards the intelligence of non-human animals, Mr. Dewar 

 appears to largely accept the Cartesian or " mere automata 

 philosophy," which he regards as proved by birds during the 

 nesting season. And the relations of instinct and intelligence 

 are considered in the account of the Solitary Wasp {Rhynchium 



