166 
Recently published Ornithological Works. [Ibis, 
was a remarkably close and accurate observer of bird-life, 
and that he was able to record his observations in a delight¬ 
fully simple and charming manner. 
Many interesting accounts are given of a variety of birds— 
the Gannet, Shag, Cormorant, Norfolk Plover, Nightjar, 
Stonechat, Short-eared Owl, and several Accipitrine birds 
are a few concerning which the author supplies information, 
gathered in every case at first hand. Iiis essay on the 
Snipe is a really valuable contribution to ornithology ; 
no fewer than thirty-three pages are devoted to this species, 
and not one line is dull reading. 
In his essay on the Grey Partridge, Mr. Ogilvie pays a 
well-deserved compliment to Mr. Ogilvie-Grant as being 
the first authority to point out the plumage differences 
of the male and female Partridge, finally exploding the old 
incorrect theory, still so often held by sportsmen, that the 
male bird alone has a horseshoe on its breast. Mr. Ogilvie 
fully bears out Mr. Ogilvie-Grant’s deductions, and cor¬ 
roboration from so careful a source is always welcome. 
Both the Grey and the French Bed-legged Partridge are 
dealt with in this article, which may be strongly recom¬ 
mended to future monographers of the birds in question. 
It is worthy of note that Mr. Ogilvie puts forward a strong- 
plea on behalf of the “ Frenchman,” and anyone who has 
shot these sporting birds will surely endorse his views. 
A chapter of peculiar economic interest, both to sportsmen 
and agriculturists, contains the results of the author’s in¬ 
vestigations into the food of the three Scotch game-birds— 
the Bed Grouse,‘the Blackcock, and the Ptarmigan, and, 
incidentally, of the Cuckoo; while in a later chapter the 
food of some of our commoner Falconidae is discussed. 
Attention is drawn to the desirability of altering, by 
Act of Parliament, the opening date when Black Game 
may be shot from the 20th of August to the 1st of October, 
and correspondingly the close season commencing on the 
1 st of February instead of the 10th of December, as is at 
present the case—-a change which from every point of view 
seems advisable. 
