Abstract
THIS is a delightful little book of stories, admirably written and beautifully illustrated, in which birds play a more or less important part. It is in no way one of the numerous works on the popular natural history of birds with which the market is nowadays flooded, but strikes a line peculiarly its own. In the first chapter we have a pathetic story of a young soldier whose thoughts were turned to home and its associations during the Waterloo campaign by a lark's nest which escaped destruction although situated in the midst of the great battle-field. The second deals with the toils and troubles of a house-martin, as supposed to be narrated by the bird itself. In regard to the reason for the annual migration, the bird is made to say: “We always do come here, and our ancestors always came, so I suppose we shall go on doing it. Besides, this is really our home. We were born here, you see; and when the heat begins in South Africa there comes a terrible feeling in our hearts, a terrible home sickness, and we must go.” Evidently, so far as birds are concerned, the author does not believe in the theory that Africa was a great centre of animal evolution.
More Tales of the Birds.
By W. W. Fowler. Pp. 232; illustrated. (London: Macmillan and Co., Ltd.) Price 3s. 6d.
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L., R. More Tales of the Birds . Nature 66, 4 (1902). https://doi.org/10.1038/066004a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/066004a0