32 THES AUD) Bio Nee Bis ia 
PORTRAITS OF TROPICAL BIRDS. By John S. Dunning. 
Livingston Publishing Co., Wynnewocd, Pa. 1970. $20.00 154 pages. 
Illustrated. Auspices of Cornel! Laboratory of Ornithology. 
Forward by Olin Sewall Pettingill, Jr. 
Some of the most colorful birds in the world are generally conceded to live 
in the American tropics. John Dunning has made a significant contribution 
to ornithology and to photography with this exquisite volume. The book 
is replete with some of the most brilliant and admirable photographs of 
birds ever published. Vireos, Finches, Tanagers, Woodpeckers, and 
Manakins—and still more Tanagers—are included. 
It was a trip to Central America sponsored by the Florida Audubon 
Society which first awakened in Mr. Dunning the desire to do some exten- 
sive bird banding and photography. He was introduced to mist netting in 
Panama, made a few stabs at bird portraiture, but gave it up because of 
poor results. 
He found many questions unanswered, which he set about trying to 
solve. He decided that photography in an enclosure would be practical. With 
the help of his dedicated wife, the netting of the bird is accomplished, and 
later released in the huge enclosure, complete with perch and proper food 
for the species. Mr. Dunning is quite generous in explaining his methods, 
and the equipment he employs. A sketch of one of his enclosures is used at 
the end of the volume. 
Each portrait occupies a full page in this 8% x 11 volume, together 
‘with a text, brief in nature on the facing page. Portraits of the Black- 
Throated Trogon and the Striped Manakin are among the most superb in 
the book. It is regrettable that the population problem, with its attendant 
destruction of forests and decimation of natural habitats, is speeding these 
tropical denizens to oblivion at a moment in history when they are being 
discovered for the very first time. Columbia has twice as many birds as 
the continental U.S., but it is only one seventh in size. Central America and 
South America need to step up their conservation education programs, and 
adopt a population policy... NOW — Raymond Mostek 
A WORLD OF DIFFERENCES. By Stanley Klein. 
Doubleday and Co., 277 Park Ave., New York, 1971. $4.95. 
In this book for young people, adaptation of plants and animals to their 
environment is reviewed by a former professor, Stanley Klein, who 
taught at Southern Connecticut State College. He examines the work of 
scientists in the field of evolution, genetics and ecology, and points out how 
the work of one is related to the discoveries of another. Darwin, Mendel 
and Muller are among the giants who are mentioned. 
The tale of the fig tree of Smyrna and the wasp is particularly instruc- 
tive. A particular wasp is needed to complete the reproductive cycle of that 
tree. By visiting both the male and female flower, the wasp insures the 
survival of both the wasp and the tree. 
Shelly Sacks, who operates an art gallery in Fair Haven, New Jersey, 
did the lavish illustrations. 
— Raymond Mostek 
