~ would be a distinct pleasure to review S ometimes all of the criteria for wise -f_:x I ."("11T]"[S book buying are tossed o ut the window ...... l.JJ "- __, Gould's Monogra ph, but it can be see,, , and one buy a book because one can't by appointment only, at a few Universi­ resist it. Such was the case with a tittle ties and Museums. While Mr. Martin's gem ca lled A General History of Humming book is rather scarce, it is sometimes or the Trochilidae with especial ref available. erence to the Collection ofJ . Could, F.R.S. Of Humming-birds, Mr. Martin says, It wa s written by W.C.L. Martin an d pub­ "So little of these brilliant miniatures of li shed in London in 1852. My crafty book­ the feathered ra ce is kn own , in a general man use d the $60.00 Humming- book and popular se nse, that the author of the to clin ch a deal for several more books and following pages conceived the id ea of a considerably more money. work bearing on their history,-- a work Later, in justification, the qualities of at once popular in style and scientific in the volume were assessed. First, the most detail." It is paradoxical that Mr. Martin engaging, are the fifteen exquisite color felt so confident in the scientific knowl­ plates, all done by hand. They alone are edge regarding European and Asian birds. worth the price of the book. Second, the by Sheldon D ingle He says, " There is not a bird, belong to au thor wa s a sci en list and officer in the what order or genus it may, pertaining to Zoological Society of London. His obser- Europe. . . Asia, or even to Africa ... vations are astute, concise, and reflect the scientific thought of his day. Third, and quite important to me, the book contains a wealth of obscure and trivial details that are unavailable in ordinary research.

£.'1£R \I lll"l''H\

I l I \I I ,. II I 1! D

TJIO< 1111.11>.£

which is not known and described." Of course, we know now that the 1850 mass of scientific knowledge was highly limited. With this background f From a physical standpoint, the book, in mind we plunge excepting the plates, is not impressive. It "" further into the book. is rather small, measuring 4\-2 by 7 in ches. It is divided in to two The cover is dull red, embossed with gold. parts, a general history and descrip­ The 232 pages are gilt-edged, top only. tions of the genera and species. The gen­ My copy is in good condition. but shows eral history is not divided into chapters, some evidence of wear over the past one but the contents of each page are identi­ hundred twenty-three years. A previous fied at the page top. Flipping through owner has ligh tly pencilled in the more this section one sees page headings, such as recent generic and specific names of some Classification, Natural Enemies, Voice and of the birds. Song, Metallic Plumage, Nidifica tion, Pre­ Regarding the con tents of the book, servation in Captivity, Ancient Mexicans, the author freely explains that it was in­ Heat, Electric Influence, and many spired by the huge collection of Humming­ others equally intriguing. bird skins that John Gould put on display We won't dwell upon the genera and in London. Gould brought from the ew species at all. That sort of catalogue can World, tltree hundred species of Hum­ be obtained in several places. Many of the ming-birds, most of which had never been personal observations and digressions, on seen in Europe. While Gould worked on the other hand, are to be found nowhere hi massive five volume Monograph of the else. A few examples will give you an idea Troclzilidae, Mr. Mar tin com pie ted the how interesting this small book is. delightful little book of our review. It First off, Mr. Martin dispels a popular 14 myth regarding tropical spiders, that are examine the instrument designed ror their comments on the manuscript. anJ 1\lr. anJ so large, they catch birds. He refers to the capture." Mrs. John A. Thomas for all the patic11cc spiders of genus Mygale when he says, Martin explains a theory that suggests and effort in photographing my birds. "Several and enormous species exist in that thickly insulated nests of the Hum­ Cuba [but] cannot possibly catch bird ming-birds are designed to protect eggs REFERENCES because it spins no net. .. and finally, be­ and babies from the extreme static elec­ Friedmann, H. 1960. The Parasitic· \\'c·avnbinb. cause Mygale is in itself too inactive in its tricity often present in tropical thunder U.S. Nat/. 11/us. Bull. 223 . Good\\'in, D. 1964. Observations on the Dark motions ... to be able to get near a Hum­ storms. Firetlnch, with some comparisons with ming-bird which, as far as I have seen, There are one hundred twenty seven Jameson's Fire linch. A ricu/1. 11/ag.. 70: never perches except on branches." There pages of this marvelous commentary about 80- 105. Goodwin, D. 1965. i\ comparative 'ludy or c:lj>­ are six pages dealing with spider lore and Humming-birds. Some of it is fallacious. tive Blue Waxbills (t:strildidae}. /his I 07: reflecting it to Humming-birds. Some of it is extremely accurate. All of it 285- 315. is delightful. Guttinger. H.R. 1970. Zur Fvolution von Ver­ ln another very interesting passage haltenswei~cn und Lautau"erum!c'n bei Martin relates how a female Iango Hum­ If you ever have an opportunity to Pracht lin ken (} .7.. Tierp~yclwl .. ming-bird, sitting upon two eggs, was cap­ purchase or even examine this wonderful 27: 1011 1075. lmmelmann. K. 1965. Australian l:inl"itL'' in tured with the nest. She hatched the eggs little book, by all means do o. The color Bush and Aviary. Angus and Robertson on shipboard during passage from Jamaica plates alone are worth it, and even without Ltd., Sydney, New South Wales. the plates, the text is so original and en­ lmmelmann, K., Steinbacher. J .. and Wolter ~. to England. The hen died shortly there­ H.E. 1972. In Vogel in Karig und Volinc·. after, but the two babies were delivered to gaging as to insure your reward . pp. 43t 440. Aachen. / 11 press. London, where they survived about two Kunkel, P. 1959. Zum Verhaltcn e inigcr Pracht­ tlnken (Estrildillae}. Z. Tierpsyclwl. , 16: months. Martin says that it is not possible SILVERBILL Cont'd from pg 23 302 350. to preserve Humming-birds in captivity. ed Silverbill" for Odontospiza ( ) Kunkel, P. 1965. Verhaltensstudicn an den kon tin en talafrikanischen Elsten:hen(Sper· Fortunately, our modern technology has canicaps would seem misleading, there­ mesres Swainson). Vogelwarre. 86: 161 overcome many of the problems of Mar­ fore, because it implies a close relation­ 178. tin's time and it is now possible to rear ship to the Silverbills (Euodice), 1 propose Morris, D. 1957. The reproductive bl'havior or the Bronze Mannikin. Lonclwra cucal· some Humming-birds in aviaries. the name "Pearl-headed Mannikin" for /ala. Behavior, II: 156 20 1. He refers to the intelligence of the this distinctive estrildid, a name similar to Morris. D. 1958. The comparative ethology or Grassllnches (Ery thrurae} and Mannikin~ small birds saying, " . .. the intelligence the German "Perlhalsamadine". (Amadinae). Proc. Zoo/. Soc. /,and., of these tiny beings is manifested in their 131: 389- 439. inquisitiveness; if struck at as they dart ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Moynihan, M. , and Hall, M.F. 1954. Host ile, sexual and other social behavior patterns along. . . they will hover around the I thank Drs. Klaus [mmelmann, Ned of the Spice f'inch (Lonchura puuctu­ aggressor, peer closely in to his face, or K. Johnson , and my wife, Joyce, for their lara} in captivity. Behavior, 7: 33 76 . Rumidaire The Incubator and Separate Hatcher for your Game Bird Egg Hatching

• Humidaire Incubators are made from 133 game bird egg capacity to 20,000 game bird egg capacities. • Economical, Reliable and Easy to Operate. • Electric automatic egg turning our contribution to the hatchery world in 1935. Standard for all models. • Manufactured for chicken eggs, turkey, duck or game bird eggs. • Humidaire "Gooser" - Our Contribution to the hatchery world in 1949. • Write for our free catalog and price list. • Since 1931 our 43rd anniversary.

the HUM IDA IRE /NCUBA TOR COMPANY Dept. W, 217 West Wayne Street, New Madison, Ohio 45346 ph (513) 996-3001

25