Three Good Books



325



Mr. Richmond is a keen bird watcher of the type we admire, the

type who delights to find himself on some lonely marsh or heath with

his field-glasses and note-book, who regards it as a red-letter day if he

can see and watch a bird that is new to him. A Black Redstart is

seen and watched in a churchyard in Essex and he is as delighted as

we were when, last August, we saw a number of Black Terns flitting

over a small broad in Suffolk and a number of Bearded Tits in the

surrounding reed-beds. His chapters on bird watching are delightful

and take one to various bird sanctuaries and to a sewage-farm, one

of the best of all places in which to see varieties, while his other chapters

give one much food for thought. Those of us who find great pleasure

in watching and observing our country’s birds will derive much enjoy¬

ment from reading this delightful book.



IDLINGS IN ARCADIA 1


Mr. P. D. Cuming has given us a charming series of essays on

natural history in many of its branches and his book has been made

doubly attractive by Mr. J. A. Shepherd’s delightful illustrations.

Many subjects are dealt, with and every chapter is good reading, in

fact, when one opens the book, it is very difficult to close it again, for

one becomes fascinated both by the author’s literary skill and his

knowledge of the ways of beasts, birds, and lower creatures. There is

very much in it to interest all who love the countryside and would

learn more of Nature’s problems. The author in one of his chapters

refers to the late Mr. Astley’s Hoopoes, described in our Magazine in

1900, though some may not realize that “ Agricultural ” is a misprint.



BIRDS OF GREAT BRITAIN 2


Mr. W. P. Pycraft is well known to most of our members as a

writer of great skill and knowledge and his latest book is not a mere

account of each bird that occurs in our land, as the title may perhaps

suggest, but aims at presenting some of the more interesting aspects of



1 John Murray 10s. Qd. net.



2 Williams and Norgate, Ltd., 7s. 6 d. net.



