The Nests and Eggs of British Birds. By C. Dixon.
(Chapman and Hall.)—This is a handbook to the " oology " of the British Islands. We wish such a " science" did not exist, for the sole value of wild birds' eggs to nineteen naturalists out of twenty is as a kind of bric-a-brac with which to fill their cabinets. A collection of 20,000 eggs, with half-a-dozen clutches of those of the raven or though, is a sight which it is di cult to gaze on with any patience, yet there are many collections which attain these dimensions. But the discovering of nests of wild birds and the observation of their habits at a time when their intelligence is most keenly developed, is perhaps the most interesting pursuit of the field naturalist ; and the information as to the dates at which the nests of the different species are to be found, the number of broods reared, and the sites in which they are generally to be sought, as given by the author, are useful aids in the search. But successful bird-nesting is one of the secrets of country training, and can no more be learnt from a book than the art of fly-fishing.
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