MORE BIRD BOOKS. 
215 
But we have no wish to say more. We are indeed surprised to see in print 
that old hallucination, that a plentiful crop of hedge berries foretells a hard 
winter, and vice versd. The experience of the winter of 1896-7 alone should 
have dispelled this erroneous belief once and for all. The author claims to have 
discovered a new wagtail which “ has no scientific name, for strange to say our 
le.iding ornithologists do not seem to know it.” It is called here the golden 
wagtail, and is described as “ bright gold above — golden head, golden tail, 
golden back, gold beneath— from breast to tip of tail pure gold.” We can only 
surmise that the flock of five seen on a roof in the north of the peninsula of 
Innishowen, were storm-driven wanderers from some unexplored Eldorado. 
The book contains a great many illustrations of varied merit, and some of 
them look as if they might have been used before. They are bad on the whole ; 
some are atrocious, but there are just a few very nice ones. They are, however, 
not always correctly named. A green woodpecker, with its feathers disordered, 
does duty for the great spotted woodpecker ; a pied (or white, it might be either) 
wagtail for the grey wagt.ail ; while a peculiarly beautiful illustration of a peregrine 
falcon, standing on a dead mallard, is labelled “ merlin and its prey.” 
Some years ago, scholastic work took the author of The Birds of Our Country 
to Hampshire, and he justly remarks that no other county in England affords 
such scope to ornithologists. Forest, downs and sea coast are all coniprised 
within its confines. The object of his book is to give to the young collector a 
book which will not be lieyond his means, and which at the same time will contain 
an account of all the birds which he is likely to meet with in the British Isles. 
In compiling the book Mr. Stewart has referred to some of the best authors. 
“ Throughout the work the classification of Seebohm [we may point out that he 
had several] has been followed, the common birds being taken first ; while the 
rare birds, which have only visited our shores a few times, have been mentioned 
at the end of each group.” This part of the arrangement has not been carried 
out well. For instance, after treating of the bulk of the Passeres, the author 
groups together a considerable number of species under the heading of “ Birds of 
the family Passeridte, which rarely, or never, breed here”; and among these we 
find the fieldfare, redwing, brambling, &c., which are surely “common birds,” 
as well as the marsh warbler, crested tit, siskin and twite, of which it cannot be 
said that they rarely or never breed in “Great Britain.” As to classification, the 
family, sub-family, and genus is given at the head of the account of each bird in 
most cases, as well as the generic and specific names. But there are no con- 
spicuous landmarks to show us w'hen we pass from one great division of birds to 
another, and the young ornithologist reading the book can pass smoothly from 
cuckoos to doves, and from doves to falcons, without realizing the importance of 
the mere change in the name of the family, easily overlooked, as the family name 
are printed in a type less conspicuous than that of the text. 
The descriptions of plumage are very slight and inadequate. The snipe, for 
instance, is described thus : “ The colour of the upper portion of the body of this 
bird is brownish black, whilst the under side is white ; the breast and sides are 
spotted with brown.” The illustration of this species comprises two figures, one 
of which represents the form known as “Sabine’s snipe.” As not a word is 
said in the text about their form, the inexperienced ornithologist will probably be 
puzzled. The author’s style is somewhat colloquial, and some passages are not 
too clear. Take the following, for instance : “ The blackbird is one of the first 
birds to begin building its nest. It is generally easily seen.” “ We all know the 
look of the blackbird’s egg, and are sure we could distinguish it from any other 
sort. You may therefore be surprised to learn that sometimes they very much 
resemble a thrush’s.” 
For the rest, the accounts given of the different birds are pleasing enough, 
and give evidence of careful observation. Here and there we find some most 
interesting records — as for instance, of a missel thrush nesting in a disused pigeon- 
cot, and of a ring ouzel’s nest placed in a pear-tree against a kitchen-garden wall 
in Hampshire. 
If we have found fault with the book in some respects, it is because we think 
it serves its purpose fairly well now, and might serve it better in a future edition. 
The illustrations are a very motley collection of ancient and modern figures, some 
of which we have long been familiar with, but never expected to see served up 
