2 THE AUDUBON BULLETIN 
BOOK REVIEWS 
AUDUBON ILLUSTRATED HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN 
BIRDS. Edgar M. Reilly, Jr. McGraw-Hill Book Co.)330 We 42nd 
St., NYC. 1968. 524 pages 35 photographs in color, 100 Drawings. 
$25.00. 
or the more than 8,100,000 bird watchers in this country, this volume 
ymes as a most welcome addition to the increasing literature on bird Study 
id conservation. Reilly has provided for the serious and casual student of 
rd life an exceptional compendium of facts not readily available else- 
here. More than 875 species of birds are included in the study, including 
jose of the United States, Alaska, Hawaii, and Canada. 
Author Edgar Reilly is curator of zoology at the New York State 
useum who has studied birds in the US as well as overseas. The general 
iting of the volume was done by the distinguished director of the Labora- 
ry of Ornithology at Cornell University, Dr. Olin Sewall Pettingill, Jr. 
The text is arranged for easy reading and ready reference. The useful] 
troductions to the families vary in size from the generous treatment 
corded hawks to the short account of the Limpkin. Each species is then 
nsidered in more detail regarding appearance, voice, range and Sstaius, 
bitat, seasonal movements, biology, and suggested reading. 
The handling of the illustrations could have been improved. For ex- 
ple, the description of the Cinnamon Teal is 12 pages away from the 
lor plate, and the Brown Booby is 13 pages away from the illustration. 
le excellent color photographs of the Sharp-shinned Hawk and the Red- 
Jed Hawk are found with the text of the Grouse and Ptarmigan. 
However, the color plates are not content with mere description and 
ntification but provide further enlightenment through additional com- 
nt. Most of the photographs have been provided from the extensive 
rary of the National Audubon Society. 
The 100 black-and-white drawings by the young artist, Albert Ear] 
bert, in stark simplicity, add more detail and Strength than many of 
> photographs. The drawings are spread lavishly throughout the book. 
There is no uniform treatment of each species of birds, because infor- 
tion is lacking on many of them. This is especially true of the stragglers 
o are more likely to be found in Asia, Great Britain, and elsewhere. 
ps of the range of species would have been useful. 
What will surely make this volume a popular favorite in a home, com- 
nity or university library is the ready access to basic facts about birds. 
ny books tell us of the appearance, voice and range of a bird. Many 
d students wish to know more: about the habitat, the seasonal movement, 
| where one can obtaiy: tore information about a particular species— 
ling enormously to on curiosity and its satisfaction. Another feature 
ny will find of enormous value is the biology of the bird. In many books 
is unable to locate the number of eggs laid, the inéubation period, and 
age at first flight. This is not always known, but author Reilly has done 
best job possible (we have used this feature most frequently in our 
rt period of ownership). 
The book is well-named for it contains, in addition to the color plates 
handsome drawings, almost 400 black and white photographs of birds. 
san exciting and useful volume and should prove very popular. 
—Raymond Mostek 
oA 
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