174 
Booh. Notices and Reviews. 
" One such community was placed rather near tlie ground, where we 
" could watch the inhabitants closely. Frequently when one or two of the 
"big birds returned to theii' nests with a rush and a headlong plunge into 
"the entrance, the whole branch shook violently. Yet the wasps showed no 
" excitement or alarm ! their sul>dued buzzing did not rise in tone. But 
" when T reached up and moved the branch gently downwards, the angry 
" hum which came forth sent me into the underbriish in haste. From 
" a safe distance T could see the wasps circling about in quick spurts 
"which meant trouble to any intruder, while the Cassiques squeaked and 
" screamed their loudest The nests are beautifully woven, of 
" very tough palm leaf shreds and grain stems, in shape like tall vases 
" bulging at the bottom to allow room for the eggs and young birds, with 
"an entrance at the side near the top Those nests which were 
"already deserted or with young ready to fly had simple rounded tops 
" arching over to protect the entrance from the sun ; but in the nests 
"which were in process of construction, now at the begirmingof the rainy 
"season (April) there appeared an additional chamber with a dense roof of 
" thatch, in which one of the parentis, the male at least in one case, passed 
" the nights safe from the torrents of sudden rain." 
These two extracts must suffice, as indicating the entrancing interest of 
the book for all bird lovers, but similar accounts of the whole fauna of the 
districts visited appear- -photographic reproductions of great merit and 
interest adorn almost every page, and we sti'ongly recommend our readers 
to procure a cojjy at once — it is a book whicli will be read again and again, 
and also be used as a work of reference. 
Eggs and Nests of British Birds.^By F. Finn, B.A., F.Z.S., etc., with 
coloured reproductions of 154 eggs from nature in twenty plates, and 
with reproductions of 74 eggs in half-tone and other illustrations. 
Hutchinson & Co., Paternoster Row, London. 
This is really an interesting and well arranged book, and is divided 
into seven parts. 
Part I. — In Towns and Gardens. 
Part II. — By Wayside and Woodland. 
Part III, — By Wayside and Woodland (on or near the ground). 
Part IV.— By the Waterside. 
Part V. -By Mountain Marsh and Moor. 
Part VI. — By sea and shore. 
Pai't VII. — Birds not breeding in Britain. 
The coloured figures are true, but we consider the general effect 
w<^uld have been better had the backgrounds been lighter in most of them. 
The reproductions of nests hi xitii, with eggs or young are both numerous 
and good. To in<licate the method adopted we reprint the account of the 
Mai sli Tit, all otliers 1 eiiig similarly dealt w ith. 
l\I.VI!Sll Trr {I'anis imlrd/r/s). 
" Tlie iMiu sli-tit uses much the same nesting sites as the Blue — and 
'■ Coal-tits, but does not affect low situnt ons as much as the last species, 
"nor, unlike the Blue-tit does it care much about artiiicial sites, and i.s sel- 
" dom to be tempted by nesting-boxes, preferring natural holes in trees, 
