4 
OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. 
gives a fascinating account of the extraordinary aerial and terrestrial dances and wing 
displays indulged in by the birds of the Pampas and the forests, partly in the prosecution 
of courtship, but largely also, as he holds, out of the pure joy of living ; and he describes, 
with something of the eye of the poet as well as the naturalist, the quality of their notes 
and the wonderful beauty of their plumage." 
The Academy says : — " Mr. Hudson is not only a clever naturalist, but he 
possesses the rare gift of interesting his readers in whatever attracts him, and of being 
dissatisfied with mere observation unless it enables him to philosophize as well. With 
his lucid accounts of bird, beast, and insect, no one will fail to be delighted. . . . The 
sketch of the Pampas, with its plants and animals, is beautifully written. His stores of 
skunks and the Indian joke on the subject are equally charming, and should be compared 
with Admiral Kennedy's belief. ... It is no mere compliment to assert that a lover of 
animals will not take up this book without reading it to the end. Mr. Hudson's descrip- 
tive powers are as highly developed as his habits of careful observation, and another 
volume of his Ammcim experiences will be eagerly awaited. The present, however, is 
a rich treat to the British naturalist, opening out vistas of speculation and enlarging his 
acquaintance with bird and insect life in the tropics. Indeed, there is no greater pleasure 
to an observer in our country tiian to compare his knowledge with siiijilar facts intiie New 
World fauna. The characteristics of the diffL-rent creatures on which Mr. Hudson touches 
are carefully discriminated, and the s\ibtle views, which he states in lucid and beautiful 
language, largely extend the reader's mental horizon. Over and over again such an one 
will be reminded of 'The Voyage of the Beagle,' while.the descriptions of bird and beast 
life partake somewhat of the gorgeousness of a tropic'al landscape. Mr. Hudson's book 
cannot be neglected by any one who claims to be a lover of nature." 
Dr. Andrew Wilson in The Illustrated London News says:— 
" A most beautiful work . . . apart from what Mr. Hudson has to say about La Plata 
and its animals, there is much in his book which, in the best sense of the word, is 
delightfully suggestive to the mind of the reader. The author seeks to show forth the 
philosophy of the animals he has studied. His work, in place of being a series of dry 
descriptions, teems with ideas, which serve to explain to us, for example, why birds dance 
and smg, why animals feign death, why birds develop the 'instinct of fear,' how the 
instincts of cattle arise, and how mosquitoes and other parasitic pets have come to enjoy 
the fulness of their little lives. . . ." 
The Daily Telegraph says: — "As strange and fantastic as the mythical 
marvels of any famous fairy tales are the wonders of bird and insect life narrated m Mr. 
W. H. Hudson's delightful collection of es.-ays, ' The Naturalist in La Plata,' and no less 
charmingly than profusely illustrated. The author, obviously an ardent and accomplished 
student of animated nature, keeps his technical erudition discreetly under control, and 
contents himself with describing in strikingly pictorial language the habits, recreations, 
and special characteristics of the South American fauna. Nothing appears to have escaped 
his scrutiny, and he has the fascinating gift of imparting to his readers the contagion of 
his own intense 'interest in the results of his sedulous and intelligent observation. He 
tells us stories without number about the idiosyncrasies of birds. There are also two 
inimitable chapters treating of epiders, and of freaks of nature which Mr. Hudson has 
seen and lost." 
The Saturday Review says: — "Mr. Hudson has given us a delightful volume, 
full of freshness and curious information. He has made it sensational by drawing 
attention to the marvels of Nature, to her strange freaks and seemingly fantastic 
eccentricities. He has recounted the old tales of credulous travellers, only to ridicule 
them ; but, on the other hand, he relates many well-authenticated facts which are 
scarcely le»s startling. He tells many sensational or humorous stories by way of 
illustration. He shows how heredity comes out in races and species ; and how animals 
are brought to modify or alter their habits in conformity with altered circumstances. In 
almost every chapter he suggests indirectly the eternal question whether there is any 
essential distinction between reason and what is popularly called instinct. Indeed, the 
difficulty appears to arise from denying to the brute creation the privilege of being idiotic, 
or of doing very foolish things, like the great mass of human beings. He would appear to 
have spent years as a settler on the Pampas. Dreary and monotonous his surroundings 
must have been, although, as a naturalist, he found inexhaustible sources of interest." 
