sign in sign up
<<
Home , Birds of Australia, Calamanthus, Crowned cormorant, Hylacola, Mollymawk, Pacific gull

REVIEWS Edited by J. M. Penhallurick BOOKS

A Field Guide to the of Britain and the World by is consistent in the text (pp 264 - 5) but uses Fleshy-footed Gerald Tuck and Hermann Heinzel, 1978. London: Collins. (a bette~name) in the map (p. 270). Pp xxviii + 292, b. & w. ills.?. 56-, col. pll2 +48, maps 314. 130 x 200 mm. B.25. Parslow does not use scientific names and his English A Field Guide to the Seabirds of and the World by names follow the British custom of dropping the locally Gerald Tuck and Hermann Heinzel, 1980. London: Collins. superfluous adjectives, Thus his names are Leach's Storm- Pp xxviii + 276, b. & w. ills c. 56, col. pll2 + 48, maps 300. Petrel, with a hyphen, and Storm Petrel, without a hyphen; 130 x 200 mm. $A 19.95. and then the , the , the , the Shag, A Guide to Seabirds on the Ocean Routes by Gerald Tuck, the and the Puffin. On page 44 we find also 1980. London: Collins. Pp 144, b. & w. ills 58, maps 2. Storm Petrel but elsewhere Hydrobates pelagicus is called 130 x 200 mm. Approx. fi.50. the British Storm-Petrel. A fourth variation in names occurs on page xxv for Comparison of the first two of these books reveals a ridi- seabirds on the danger list of the Red Data Book, where culous discrepancy in price, which is about the only impor- Macgillivray's Petrel is a Pterodroma but on page 44 it is tant difference between them. Otherwise, an account of a Bulweria. Phalacrocorax c. carunculafus is given its New seabirds of the British Isles by John Parslow (pp 261 - 285) Zealand name King Shag but elsewhere in the book it is in the British edition with maps showing the breeding distri- called the Rough-faced Cormorant. Devilliers and Terschuren butions of the twenty-five that nest in Britain and (1978, Gerfaut 68: 53 - 86) have shown that albiventer is Ireland, is replaced in the Australian version by an account a sub-species of P. atriceps and have recommended that their on the seabirds of Australia by D.L. Serventy. This occupies English names King Shag and Blue-eyed Shag be replaced pages 261 - 271 and includes a map of the main areas of by Emperor Shag, thus leaving King Shag free for New mortality for seabirds in Australia and ten maps of the Zealand usage. general breeding distributions of thirteen species that nest in Australia. It is claimed on the covers of these books that the contents make it possible to identify any of the Sheathbills fail to get a mention in the introduction nearly 300 species of seabirds in the world and that the (other than a drawing of a head to show a sheath). They are text is a systematic guide to all species and distinct sub- omitted from the family listings of food and identifying species of seabirds. features. Nomenclature and sequence of species follow with only Some curious bits of unnatural history have managed minor variations W.B. Alexander's systematic list in his to creep into the introduction. Thus by implication on page of the Ocean (1954), which this new guide claims xv frigate-birds, and Sooty have inade- to replace. The only major additions are the two species quate preen glands and petrels use oil from their nostrils of sheathbills, Chionis alba and C minor, which provide to waterproof their . On pages xv, xx, xxiii and 58 an additional family, the Chionidae. A few species have it is stated that plungedive for food but there is been lumped and even fewer have been split. Some new no mention that this behaviour is almost entirely confined species have been found or rediscovered and some sub- to the Brown and Chilean Pelicans and is extremely rare in species that could have been considered species have been other pelicans. What species 'the ' on page xv refers lost or omitted in the text and the distributional maps. to is not clear as pelicans have been extinct in Britain since By following Alexander's we find, for example, prehistoric times. On page xx squid and crustacea have been Chlidonias albostriata five pages removed from the other omitted from the diets of , and cormorants; marsh terns. In fact, Alexander placed this species in Sterna, crustacea, from the diet of pelicans; and , starfish and a move recently supported by Lalas and Heather (1980, sea urchins, from the diet of . Notornis 27: 45 - 68) with the suggestion that it is pro- bably closely allied to S, virgata. The index of scientific In the diagrams of topography on page xiv, the toes of names in Tuck gives a transposed map number for albostriata. the left foot are labelled 'legs'; and the first secondary is The indexes to English and scientific names do not cover included among the 'primaries' and labelled 'greater coverts'. the preliminary pages nor such terms as 'mollymawk' in In the diagrams on page xvi showing bills of seabirds, almost the fust and 'jaeger' in both books, although they are used all the lines indicating nostrils do not reach them and in that in the introductions to the fkmilies. There are some curious of a phalaro e do not even point to the nostrils. A line letters inserted at several places in the species accounts leading to tie sieve-like lamellae of a prion is labelled (e.g. p. 17), which have no function. They seem to be edi- 'pouch'. The gonys of a is labelled 'under mandible torial corrections to indicate the proper order of text seg- often with a red spot' but the illustration shows a gull with ments. a subterminal black bar and not one of the Lams argentatus super-species that do have a red goneal spot. On pages xviii An inconsistency in the English names is the use of and xix the convergences are mapped as straight latitudinal White-breasted Cormorant by Serventy (p. 264) and Black- lines and not in their average geographical positions. On page faced Cormorant by Tuck (pp 75, 174 and 247). 'Black- xv it is stated that cormorants use their hooked bills to pierce faced' has been used by Serventy and Whittell in Birds of the gills of the fish they catch. We have seen no evidence since the second edition (1951). The of this on fish taken by several species of cormorant. The term 'White-breasted' is the name used in Southern Africa gills of fish are protected by a hard bony plate that would for Phalacrocorax (carbo) lucidus (cf. McLachlan and Liver- be difficult for the horny tip of a cormorant's bill to qene- sidge 1978, Roberts' Birds of South Africa 4th ed. and the trate. Also on page xv penguins do not have 'caruncles but 1969 Check List of the Birds of South Africa). Tuck uses deciduous horny teeth or spikes on their tongues and palates, Pale-footed for Puffinus carneipes and Serventy for holding fish and other slippery prey. 256 REVIEWS 81

We doubt whether seabirds are far more numerous than most readily distinguish this lightly-built species. Tuck says landbirds in the world as stated on page xxiv. When one the Pale-footed has 'long narrow wings' and the Wedge-tailed feeds hawks and owls, it is quite wrong to feed them raw has 'long broadish wings'. In fact they are almost exactly meat without giving them some roughage in the form of fur, the same in size and shape and far better described by the or wool, so that they are able to make and latter statement. Problems continue with the Sooty and regurgitate pellets, and some broken bones, shell grit, Short-tailed. For these 'long narrow wings' is shells or chalk for calcium. Freshly shredded fish or crushed correct but emphasis on a pale chin in Sooty, which is food pellets for cats are good for feeding many land and supposed to be lacking in Short-tailed, is definitely unaccept- waterbirds including those that feed on insects and a lot able. The greater size of Sooty is stressed and the underwing less messy aboard ship than culturing mealworms as suggested pattern is mentioned but is not illustrated correctly on on pages xxvii and xxviii. Plate 8, nor for that matter in most recent books (Harper and Kinsky 1978, Southern and Petrels, come Many of the distributional maps are inaccurate. A simple closest). The bill and leg colorations of Sooty and Short- exercise is to compare those of Tuck (pp 232 - 260) with tailed do not differ and are not well described by blackish or those accompanying the text by Serventy (pp 270 - 71). dark (bills) and bluish grey (Short-tailed) or bluish (Sooty) The latter are more reliable. Then, look at Fluttering and for legs. Plate 8 is again inconsistent with the text. The maps Little Shearwaters, White-faced Storm-Petrel, Australian for these species show a useful feature in which months of Pelican, most of the Australian cormorants and the Blue- occurrence in different p~rtsof the migratory range are grey Noddy, to select a few that are obviously incorrect. indicated. Some other seabirds are given this treatment. Our impression is that errors in the text and illustrations Many Short-tailed Shearwaters are back in Australian waters are far too numerous for a book of this nature. A glance by October and this ought to have been shown on the map. at text and plates, mainly concentrating on the species most The breeding distribution shown for Short-tailed (map 56) is relevant to the Australasian region, provided the following not entirely accurate (see earlier comment). However, the selection of misleading information. migratory loop looks a much more likely version than is traditionally represented for this species. Rockhopper Penguins do not breed at the Bounty Islands as stated on page 9. In the text on page 10, but not on map The account of the Cookilaria petrels is equally depres- 12, the Chatham Islands and the North Island of New Zea- sing. Both the colour illustrations (Plate 12) and the figures land have been omitted from the breeding range of the (pp 41 - 42) are incorrect for nearly every one of the species . On pages 16 and 17 no hint is given that concerned; most are grossly incorrect. Incidentally, the Wandering and Royal Albatrosses in some can Black-winged Petrel, a species very easy to identify at sea, be difficult to identify at sea. The text and the illustration has a much wider breeding range than indicated by Tuck. on Plate 3 of Short-tailed do not tally; the illus- Because the underwing patterns are important characteristics tration of an adult of this rare species differs markedly in many petrels it is disappointing to find little help in the from any plumage pattern known to us but the earliest text on how to use them along with other features to untangle stage of immature plumage is shown reasonably well. The a group such as these Cookilaria petrels. Similar problems bill in this Albatross is pink in immatures but is probably occur elsewhere in the Pterodroma petrels with barely suffi- more correctly described as yellowish with a blue-grey cient information to identify most of them positively. tip in older birds. Nowhere is there any mention of the two forms of Black-browed Albatrosses. Despite what is A taxonomic innovation by Tuck (p. 72 and map 141) said on page 21 juvenile Light-mantled Sooty Albatrosses and Serventy (p. 263) is the inclusion of the Australasian are distinguishable from Sooty Albatrosses because they populations of Phalacrocorax carbo in the nominate sub- still have the body plumage distinctly lighter than the head, species, which all previous workers have considered to be wings and tail. On page 19 and map 25 Tuck appears to have confined to the maritime shores of the North Atlantic overlooked the distinctive sub-species of Diomedea cauta: Ocean, with Sweden as an embarrassing type-locality; but salvini that breeds on the Snares and Bounty Islands and Sweden was then somewhat bigger when in 1758 Linnaeus eremita that breeds on Pyramid Rock in the Chatham Islands. named this Pelecanus carbo. On page 72 and map 142 However, there is an illustration of eremita at the bottom the distribution of P. c. sinensis is given but the distributions of Plate 4 marked 3c. of the intermediate forms between sinensis and lucidus are omitted and not mentioned in the text (cf. Cramp and Shearwaters and petrels do not spend most of their life Simmons [Eds] Birds Western Palearctic 1 :200 - 207). on the wing without sleep as implied on page 23; they can Similarly on page 76 Tuck, following Alexander, treats be encountered frequently in large flocks resting at sea campbelli as a sub-species of Phalacrocorax carunculatus but and they rest ashore often at their breeding islands. Only fails to men tion or figure chalconotus, onslo wi, ranfurlyi a few species of shearwater forage by diving and swimming and colensoi. Their distribution is included in that of P. underwater. carunculatus on map 155 but not in the text. We find Daption capensis instead of the correct capense. The measurements given for prions are muddled, so that what Gabianus is retained as a of scoresbyi, the Magellan appears to be a reasonable treatment of this difficult group is Gull (pp 94, 190 and 206), but is not used for its type species anreliable (see Harper 1980, Notornis 27: 235 - 286 for pacificus, the Pacific Gull. is the generic name an excellent review of characters to use at sea and in the that should have been used for scoresbyi. Serventy (p.264) hand). does retain Gabianus with in brackets for pacificus, although he has used Larus with Gabianus in brackets in his How do we fare if we try to identify any one of the four and Whittell's Birds of Western Australia from the 3rd most common shearwaters to be seen off the eastern coast of (1962) to the 7th (1976) editions. Taxonomically the latter Australia? Using Tuck, we should probably recognize the version is more correct. Pale-faced (= Fleshy-footed), though its legs are not yellowish flesh. Bill colour would be a major criterion but Plate 8 does There are many problems with the illustrations, some of not show it as strawcoloured. Wedge-tailed is a bit more which have already been mentioned. The black-and-white difficult, because the text suggests tail shape as the main figures are neither numbered nor indexed. Some even lack character of the dark forms. The tail is usually folded and a legend and it is not always clear which species is figured. therefore seldom seen clearly as a wedge-shape. The slender We are not aware of any cormorant that looks like the one elongated body and the characteristic attitude of the wings on page xvi. On Plate 2 the Fiordland Crested Penguin is 1981 REVIEWS 257 drawn smaller than the Rockhopper Penguin, whereas the and . Omitted from the Guide are: Abbott's reverse is true as indicated in the text on pages 8 and 9. The and Christmas Island 'from Route 13; mantle pattern of the Wandering Albatross, as shown on 3a, Ascension Island Frigatebud from Routes 6 and 7; Southern looks improbable and 3c, as illustrated, could also be an Giant-Petrel from all routes and Antarctica; Black- faced adult female. On Plate 20 and page 73 there is no indication Cormorant from Routes 11 and 17; Grey Pelican from of the white throat-feathers of the routes 15, 16 and 17 and Hutton's Shearwater from Routes extending much further down the neck than in the Common 11,17 and 20. Cormorant. On Plate 22 the Black-faced Cormorant is given a red face; the Spotted Cormorant and the Pitt Island Cormo- Whereas in the field guides Phalacrocorax carbo in Aus- rant, a blue instead of a grass-green face. Many Campbell tralia is considered to be the nominate sub-species, in this Island Cormorants do have white wing-patches, a character guide it reverts to being the Australian race of the Great that is individually variable in sub-antarctic shags and does Cormorant in Bass Strait at the end of Route 17. not vary with season as indicated for the Blue-eyed Cormorant. On Plate 23 the has been gjven a red instead The drawings of seabuds in flight by Norman Arlott of a yellow face and there is no mention of its close marine in this guide are considerably better than those by Her- relative, the , which is more likely to mann Heinzel in the field guides. Heinzel, however, is better be seen from a ship. On Plate 41 the black subterminal bar at drawing and neither appears to be able to has been omitted from the bill of the Caspian . draw giant-petrels. The use of the British or Australian volumes to identify The Guide does not usually distinguish between the seabirds will be frustrating and even misleading for most species of giant-petrel, of prion and of Cookilaria petrel observers. It is probably safer to rely on Harper and Kinsky nor does it recognize the occurrence of the South Polar (1978, Southern Albatrosses and Petrels), Falla et al. (1979, (MacCormick's) Skua north of Antarctic waters. In the the new guide to birds of New Zealand), Slater (1970, A Guide the table of contents does not include the figures. Field Guide to Australian Birds) or Pizzey (1980, A Field All figqes have a legend but maps do not. The number of Guide to the Birds of Australia) for the identification of illustrations per family is as follows: penguins 2, albatrosses 5, seabirds in the Australasian region. Tuck and Heinzel under- petrels and shearwaters 21, storm-petrels 4, diving-petrels took a massive task and it is sad to have to say that a lot of none, tropicbuds 2, pelicans 2, gannets and boobies 7; tidying up will be needed to make it at all reliable. As a last cormorants 1, frigatebirds 2, phalaropes 1, skuas 2, gulls 5, comment, if you do want to buy a copy, buy it through an terns 10, auks 3 and sheathbills none. The Northern Gan- agent in the UK and save yourself half the price it sells for net is illustrated on three figures and the Fulmar on two. in Australia. There is not a sufficient difference in the versions Two forms of Audubon's Shearwater are illustrated. to bother with the local product. There is, by the way, a third version, a South African edition, which we have not In summary, the Guide to Seabirds on the Ocean Routes, examined. is a useful book to consult before embarking on one of the longer ocean voyages. The third book, A Guide to Seabirds on the Ocean Routes, is a companion to be used with one of the versions P.J. Fullagar of the field guides reviewed above. The cover claims that it G.F. van Tets gives an account of all the seabirds likely to be seen on twenty-five of the world's most frequently travelled ocean- routes. There is also an account of the birds of Antarctica Field Guide to the Birds of Western Australia by G.M. Storr but not of the sub-antarctic islands. The breeding distribution and R.E. Johnstone, illustrated by Martin Thompson, 1979. of birds in the central Pacific Ocean is given but not those Perth: Frank Daniels for the Western Australian Museum. of birds in the other oceans. Seabirds that are to be seen in Pp 211, col. pll 38, b. & w. pll 2, figs 8, map 1, diagram the harbours at the end points of a few of the twenty-five 1.221 X 147 mm. $19.95. ocean-routes are mentioned. The harbours include for Austra- lia only Fremantle and for New Zealand only Wellington. This is a neat and compact book and its low cost tends to Ocean-routes 16 and 17 to Australia start on the map from offset any lack of sturdiness in standing up to wear and tear Hanoi and in the text and on the map legend in Hong Kong. in the field. It treats some 475 species and covers the whole A map on page 135 shows correctly the positions of the of Western Australia north to the Kimberley Division. In Sub-Tropical and Antarctic Convergences, which are incorrec- that sense it is more comprehensive than Serventy and tly shown' on a map on pages xviii and xix in the field guides. Whittell's Birds of Western Australia and serves a rather different purpose. Scientific names are explained in the introduction but are not used in the text where only English names are given It fulfds the fust main aim of a field guide (of identifying for species and sub-species. These English names are a mix- a bird for the user) with simplicity and professionalism. ture of world, British and other usages and are not always The bulk of the text consists of four- to eight-line descriptions the same as in the field guides. Generic names are rovided of each species, defining features of male, female and im- in the index but of those used in the field guides, tPulweria, mature buds, where they differ, and stressing characteristics Chionis and Rhynchops are omitted. Rhynchops, the skim- that distinguish the species being discussed from others. mers, is mentioned only in the introduction and the index Descriptions are followed by brief but accurate accounts of refers only to the ocean routes and Antarctica. Plate num- distribution and main habitat, both within and without bers in the field guides are given in brackets after most Western Australia. There are no maps of distribution, but a names of seabirds in the chapters on the ocean-routes and double-page map of the climatic zones of Western Australia Antarctica. Bounty Island and Chatham Island Albatrosses appears inside the front cover. It is easy to read and is labelled are mentioned on page 101 for Route 20. Presumably they with the main places mentioned in the text. The species are Diomedea cauta salvini and D.c. eremita, which were are arranged in a sequence resembling but not conforming to omitted from the text of the field guides. The sheathbills that in other standard lists, such as Peters' Check-list of are omitted from the introduction of the Guide as they Birds of the World or the RAOU Checklists (Pt 1 and Interim are from the introduction to the field guides. However, the List of , 1975). The account of each family is Yellow-billed SheathbiU does rate a mention in Route 25 introduced by a thumb-nail description of the family,written REVIEWS in a simple style that avoids difficult technical terms. In communicate with everyone. summary, the text scores in its concise precision. For those who require more in a field guide, Graham Pizzey's A Field Guide to the Birds of Australia would provide the more Richard Schodde complete reference. All species, or at least their diagnostic parts. are illustrated Guide to Living Birds by J.E. Webb, J.A. Wallwork and in colour, and black-and-white silhouettes of all J.H. Elgood, 1979. London: Macmillan. Pp XI1 + 291, in flight are added to aid identification. Taken as a whole, many b. & w. drawings, figs & maps. 215 X 135 mm. $12.50 the illustrations are soundly executed and achieve another objective of a good field guide: that of enabling ready identi- The accounts of each order and family are kept to a fication. Martin Thompson's figures are more life-like than single page and take the form of a sequence of one- or two- those in Peter Slater's A Field Guide to Australian Birds sentence entries'itemizing structural and behavioural attitu- (if not quite up to the standard of Roy Doyle's in Pizzey's), des, distribution and the number of component genera but they are smaller, particularly in the case of dull honey- and species (for families only). The entries are simply and eaters, warblers and that are difficult to identify. concisely written and are accompanied by maps, showing Some of the plates in my copy, (e.g. Plate 32) seem to have world distribution, and sketches of species typical of each become washed out, so that colour and therefore diagnostic family. Both format and information duplicate to some characters are lost; it is almost impossible to distinguish extent the description of the families of birds in Van Tyne between the figures for the Dusky and Thick-billed Grass- and Berger 's Fundamentals of . Here Webb wrens. Moreover, the Grey-fronted (called et aL's accounts lose mainly by omitting a bibliography Yellow-fronted here) is not illustrated with its narrow grey for each family. frons, even though the figure of its head is large enough to show it. These, nevertheless, are minor blemishes in illustra- For its price, this paperback must be one of the handiest tions that are generally of a high standard for a field guide. and easily read compilations of the characteristics of birds ever published. It is, in reality, a desk guide to the families A third objective of a field guide (that of following stan- of living birds, summarizing their salient features and in- dard and using familiar or standard names for all troducing them with a succinct summary of the form of the species) is not realized so well. Indeed, Storr and Johnstone birds, the broad functions of their plumage and limbs, their tend to chart their own course here. This may satisfy their internal structure and organs, their patterns of geographical own professional views of taxonomy and nomenclature, distribution and the state of their phylogenetic classification. for which there is often much to be said, but it is misplaced These sections are backed up by simple diagrams of the in a field guide. The users of field guides are mostly students, type of bills and feet, the form of feathers and novices and visitors from overseas. Unfamiliar with the finer tracts, and the structure of the head, brain, skull, wing, points of systematic ornithology in Australia, they can be pectoral and pelvic girdles, hind limb, heart, lungs, syrinx confused and misled by names that do not match those in and . One figure even illustrates the structural action the main reference texts on Australian birds. of flight. Changes in scientific names are not too serious in a The families are arranged in conventional sequence, field guide; few use them and those that do usually have beginning with the ratites and ending with the oscines some inkling of their synonyms. There are nevertheless at but within that series they are grouped in an ecologically least three taxonomic changes that I found surprisix. One instructive way. The early families of ground birds are is the combining of all Australian corellas under a single followed by the water birds, both sub-divided into flightless species; another is the lumping of Eastern and Western and flying groups. After these come perching birds, broken Bristlebirds; and the third h the inclusion of the scrub-robins into carnivorous predators, non- aerial feeders, Drymodes in the family Orthonychidae. non-passerine arboreal birds and passerines. Here the general connexion between precocial young and a terrestrial or Vagaries in English nomenclature are less easy to follow. aquatic mode of life and between altricial young and an Names come from various sources. Some, such as those arboreal existence is made specially clear. for the egrets, fairy-wrens, hylacolas and Calamanthus, follow the RAOU's RecommendedEnglish Names for Austra- Classification (the limits of families and the number lian Birds. Others, the Torres Strait Pigeon, Australian Crow, of genera and species within them) is based on E.S. Gruson's Golden-headed Fantail-Warbler, flyeater (for gerygone), and A Checklist of the Birds of the World, a rather unreliable Yellow-fronted Honeyeater, are kept from older lists and source. Reference List of the Birds of the World by J.J. handbooks. There are even some innovations: Australian Morony, W. 3. Bock, and J. Farrand, Snr, would have pro- for the already well-established Varied Sittella and vided a sounder foundation. But the essential purpose of Grey-breasted White-eye for the familiar Silvereye. the text is to summarize the characteristics of each order and its constituent families and it is on this basis that it must be judged. These departures from current RAOU nomenclature might be thought to presage new standards, were it not The accounts in both manuals suffer often, moreover, that few of them agree with alternative names used elsewhere. from being too general and superficial. In Webb et al., the Pizzey, for example, sticks in his field guids to the RAOU'S differences between strigid and tytonid owls in length of Sin ' g Bushlark, Varied Sittella, Golden-headed Cisticola toes, slotting of the primaries, shape of eggs and form of anfiasteii and Western Yellow Robins but prefers instead defence are not given. Nor is mention made of the primary only one Wedgebill, heath- for hylacola, White-tailed character of (their fmbriate quadrifid tongue) Warbler, Lilac-crowned Wren and White-rumped Miner. or of the thick downy plumage of cuckoo-shrikes. The map Storr and Johnstone's position on these names is precisely of Climacteridae, furthermore, shows treecreepers absent the opposite. Unfortunately, such lack of unanimity obstructs from the whole of Western Australia and the Varied Sittella rather than clears the road for a stable nomenclature, bemuses has been left off the world map of Sittidae. As so often the average naturalist and upsets the work of support institu- happens in compilations brought together in other parts tions like zoos and museums, which need standard names to of the world, Australian groups are treated with less per- 1981 REVIEWS 259 ception than those of regions closer to Europe and North Cormorants, Sooty Oystercatchers, Silver and Pacific Gulls. America, e.g, fairy-wrens Malurus are aligned with monarch All known colonies of these species are described in detail flycatchers and fantails in the Muscicapinae. Such short- and the author has made a number of important findings comings will be recognized immediately by Australian at some. For example his descriptions of 'pack attacks' on ornithologists, which indirectly makes the book more use- the eggs and young of Short-tailed Shearwaters on De Witt ful to them than to workers overseas. Island by the largely vegetarian Swamp Rat Rattus lutreolus have not been previously made. . Some errors, omissions and superficialities are inevi- table in a book of this scope and level. What makes up for The lists of birds for each island have been carefully pre- this is its general comprehensiveness, simplicity and read- pared with only confumed records accepted. The numbers ability. It is pitched at the level of general ornithologists, of land birds, particularly passerines, make interesting com- ecologists and non-taxonomists and for their purposes it parison and the presence or absence of species such as the is one of the most reliable and certainly most convenient White-browed (Brown) Scrubwren, Scrubtit, Tasmanian references to the world's families of birds today. Thornbill and some of the honeyeaters pose interesting questions. Perhaps in a revised edition some space could Richard Schodde be given to an application of the theories of island bio- geography to these island avifaunas. Islands of South-west Tasmania Gary White, 1980. : In conclusion, this booklet is recommended to all orni- Published by the author. Pp XI1 + 63, b. & w. pll 10.$A4.50 thologists interested in breeding islands, land birds on small islands and the avifauna of Tasmania generally. It ought to stimulate further awareness of Tasmania's south- The author is to be congratulated on his enterprise in gather- western wilderness and the importance of the area for wild- ing and publishing the information contained in this booklet. life conservation. Although much of the text is in the form of annotated plant and lists, it nevertheless makes enjoyable reading David Milledge for ornithologists and others with an interest in Australia's small coastal islands. The author's enthusiasm for this remote group of islands, an integral part of one of the Southern Hemisphere's three major temperate wildernesses, comes The Birds of Oman by Michael Gallagher and Martin W. through strongly and his pioneering effort has established Woodcock, 1980. London: Quartet Books. Pp 310, frontis., an excellent baseline from which Tasmanian wildlife au- col. pll XI1 + 121,figs 3, tables 10: 312 x 220 mm. thorities can begin to formulate plans of management for Btg37.50. the islands of the area.

Five of the major islands, De Witt, Maatsuyker, Flat Few readers of 'Emu' are likely to be interested in Oman; still (Mutton Bud), Louisa and Flat Witch, are dealt with in fewer in its birds, at this price. Yet I have found that most separate chapters and a further chapter summarizes infor- people, except the rudest mechanicals, once exposed to the mation on ten of the smaller and lesser known ones. How- deserts of Arabia Felix and their inhabitants, man and ever the coverage of the area is not complete, with approxi- beast, fall under their spell for ever. Naturally, poorly known mately twenty small islands and rocks omitted because corners such as the Crucial Toast and Oman are the most they are yet to be investi8ated by students of natural history. fashionating, to use Ludwig Koch's immortal corruption. There are black-and-whlte photographs of ail the major And Oman at the meeting place of three zoogeographical islands except for Flat Island, and also of the Mewdtone regions is importantly placed. There has been no compre- and Ile du Golfe. The oblique aerials are of excellent quality hensive guide to its birds till now. but most of the others are mediocre. Perhaps the main criticism that can be made of the booklet is the lack of maps. The book is conventional, perhaps traditional, with an It would be useful to have a general map of the area showing introduction of forty-six pages, giving the background of the islands listed and their locations with respect to the climate, physiography and avifauna with some practical Tasmanian mainland. Maps of the larger islands showing tips for . The main part is an annotated list physical features, landing sites and the extent of seabird of species (world range, occurrence and status in Oman, colonies would also be helpful. descriptions of plumage and some field notes) plus a simple checklist and appendixes for doubtful and possible occur- In each of the chapters dealing with a major island, an rences, introduced species and banding recoveries in the introduction details all known landings concerned with country. All species recorded in the country and a good biological observations. A physical description of the island many that can be expected because they occur nearby is given together with recommended landing and camping (e.g. in South Yemen) are shown in good clear coloured sites and any past human settlement or other activity is plates. discussed. The vegetation is described and an annotated list of flora is given for some islands. Birds, mammals and So, to what does it all amount? If one is honest, the reptiles are treated in much the same manner. Birds and book contains not much more new and useful informa- breeding seabirds, in particular, receive the most attention tion than a field guide or even a competent faunal paper because they are the most important group. A discussion in a journal, most of the illustrations being already avail- of factors affecting the population densities of vertebrates able elsewhere. It is not going to fit into an ordinary shelf is given at the end of each chapter together with conser- comfortably, let alone into a rucksack or hip-pocket. In vation problems likely to require future attention. short it is the sort of book at which it is now fashionable for reviewers to sneer (coffee-table). However, believing Ornithologically the islands of south-western Tasmania that there is more to life than microfiche and silicon chips, are important breeding grounds for Fairy Penguins, White- I give it three hearty cheers. Any naturalist lucky enough capped Albatrosses (two colonies), Short-tailed Shearwaters, to visit the eastward parts of the Arabian peninsula will Common Diving-Petrels, Fairy Prions and Australasian Gan- be well advised to get it into his baggage instead of a lot nets (two colonies). Other breeding seabirds are Black-faced of assorted gadgetry because I am sure that he will find it 260 REVIEWS EMU81

as invaluable as I found Meinertzhagen's Nicoll's Birds of deavour, which raises the sobering thought that perhaps Egypt forty years-ago. It is a fine book and I suppose that the Arabs are set to become the custodians of western we get it at all thanks to the generous and enlightened1 culture, just as they were for 800 years after the Hejira. patronage of H.M. Qaboos bin Said. 1 cannot see'much support coming fiom western sources for this sort of en- S. Marchant

CONTENTS OF OTHER PERIODICALS Compiled by M.G. BROOKER

Austral. Raptor Ass. News 1 (4) 1980 A record of the Scaly-breasted Lorikeet for Geelong, Vic. Peregrine Falcon over the Coral Sea. (T. Stokes) 7 (L. Conole) 21-22 . Wedge-tailed Eagle raises three young. (J. Olsen) 13 More on suburban birds: Newtown, Geelong.- (T. Trickett) Inter-specific conflict in raptors. (S. Debus) 13 23-25 Austral. Raptor Ass. News 2 (1) 1981 Gang-gangs at the Western Cemetery. (J. Hunt) 26-27 Some notes on the care of captive raptors. (P. Olsen and at Inverleigh Common, Vic. (L. Conole) 28 -29 J. Olsen) 3-5 Ibis 122 (4) 1980 Releasing captive-raised raptors (J. and P. Olsen) 56 Winter survival in relation to dominance classes among Wedge-tailed Eagle kills a large goanna. (A. Withers) 10 Silvereyes Zosterops lateralis chlorocephala of Heron Island, Brown Falcon nesting in tree hollows. (A. Withers) 10 Great Barrier Reef. (J. Kikkawa) 437446 Aust. Birds 15 (1) 19-80 J. Arid Environ. 3 (4) 1980 Keith ~indwookscontribution to NSW ornithology. (A. Vegetation and bird communitv characteristics in an Austra- McGill) 14 lia; arid mountain rang*. (K. S: Shurcliff) 331-348 A Black-breasted Buzzard at the Macquarie Marshes, NSW. Mem. Qld Mus. 20 (1) 1980 (M.G. Brooker and J.C. Wombey) 4 A Review of the De Vis pigeons of Australia. (G.F. van White-rumped Swiftlet at Iluka, NSW. (G.P. Clancy) 4 Tets and P.V. Rich) 89-93 A sight record of the Herald Petrel off northern New South Mitt. 2001. Mus. Berlin (55) 1979 Wales. (J. Izzard and W.D. Watson) 5-6 Comparative osteology of the penguins. (B. Stephen) 3-98 Mobbing of dead Southern Boobook. (G.P. Clancy) Nat. Hist. Mus. Los Ang. Ctv Contribn Sci. (330) 1980 Little and Forest Ravens in New South Wales. (S.J.S. Debus) The Australian ~rom&niihidae: a group 'of extinct large 7-12 ratites (P.V. Rich) 93-104 A notable record of the Yellow-legged Flycatcher. (W.R. A fossil Plain Wanderer from Fire-Hole deposits, Morwell, Boles) 12-13 southeastern Vic., Aust. (P.V. Rich and A.R. McEvey) 251-256 Golden-headed Cistola at Dareton and Buronga, NSW. (C. Notornis 27 (4) 1980 Sonter) 14-16 Habits and feeding of Auckland Island Banded Dotterel in A white Jacky Winter. (G. Clancy) 16 autumn. (R.J. Pier&) 309-324 Aust. J. Ecol. 5 (1) 1980 South Georgian Diving Petrels breeding on Codfish Island. Flowering phenology, seed set and bud pollination of five (M.J. Imber and R.J. Nilsson) 325-330 Western Australian Banksia species. (R.J. Whelm and A.H. Birds in an apple orchard (R.T. Baker) 331-334 Burbidge) 1-7 Bird counts in lowland forests in the Western Paparoas. (D.J. Environment and food of the Budgerigar. (E. Wyndham) 4761 Onley) 356-362 Aust. J. Zool. 28 (3) 1980 The taxonomic status of extinct New Zealand Coots. (P.R. Parent-offspring recognition in a cockatoo, the Galah. (I. Milliner) 363-367 Rowley) 445-56 Seabirds found dead in New Zealand in 1970, 1971 and Bird Observer (589) 1981 1972. (C.R. Veitch) 369-385 Strange behaviour of a Wedge-tailed Eagle. (L. Whitham) 3 Additions and corrections to the bibliography of R.A. Falla Food for Laughing Kookaburra nestlings. (A. Eames) 10 (C.A. Fleming) 391 Gang-gang Cockatoos feeding on wattle galls. (A. Eames) 11 Bird and Stoat encounters in Fiordland. (K. Morrison) 324 Canberra Bird Notes 6 (2) 1981 Mollymawk eats Diving-Petrel (M.K. Tarburton) 330 Observations on the waterbirds of Lake Ginninderra: 1979-80. Red-capped Dotterel in North Canterbury. (M.M. Davis) (C. Davey) 51-55 367-368 Nesting of a Striated Pardalote in a building. (A. Taysom) 56 Orange-fronted Parakeet: record of flocking. (C.A. Fleming) A late Rufous Fantail nest. (V. Routley) 57-58 788-1911------The gape of the Fuscous Honeyeater. (E.C. Metcalf) 64 Godwits chasing Skua. (J.M. Hawkins) 391 Observations on breeding of Black Swans. (D. Ross) 68 White-eyed at Western Springs. (C. Jowett) 392 Corella 5 (1) 1981 Yellow-nosed Mollymawks in the Bay of Plenty. (P.C.M. Survey of buds on floodplainestuarine wetlands on the Latham)-----, 393-394- - - - - Hunter and Richmond Rivers in northern NSW. (D.G. fJ&ual behaviour of Asiatic Whimbrel. (KC. Harrison and Gosper) 1-18 P.A.G. Howell) 394-395 The breeding season at Moruya, NSW. (S. Marchant) 19-25 Brown Boobies in New Zealand. (C. Miskelly) 395 34 (4) 1980 Grev-backed Storm Petrels at Doubtful Sound. CW. Cooper) Morphometric differentiation in New Zealand populations of 396- the House Sparrow. (A.J. Baker) 638-653 Morepork calling frequency in Nelson. (C.F.J. O'Donnell) Geelong Nat. 17 (3) 1980 397.199--- Little Stint Calidris minuta at Melbourne and Metropolitan Feeding of captive NZ Pigeons. (C.W. Devonshire) 399400 Board of Works Farm, Werribee. (J. Strudwick) 16 Possible early record of Cattle Egrets in NZ. (B. Brown) 400 A Spectacled Monarch at the Ironbark Basin, Point Addis, Probable occurrence of the Black Bittern in NZ. (P.L. Horn) Vic. (B.W. Finch et al.) 18-19 401403 Pied Currawongs in Highton. (R. Baverstock) 20 Colour-marked Turnstone in Manukau Harbour. (B. Brown) 1981 REVIEWS 261

403 Valley and Oro Bay-Pongani Eucalyptus and associated savan- An observation of carrion preference by the Australasian na areas of the Northern Province of PNG: recent invaders or Harrier. (J.F.M. Fennell) 404405 relict populations from the last glaciation. (G.E. Clapp) 20-35 The effects of weather on a Caspian Tern colony. (A. Jones) PNG Bird Soc. Newl. (175-176) 1981 405-406 The second PNG record of the Black-headed Gull Lams Giant-Petrel records from Fiji. (D. Purchase) 406407 ridibundus at Moitaka' Sewage Farm. (B.W. Finch) 7 NZ J. Ecol. 2 (1979) The enigma of the occurrence of the River Kingfisher Alcedo The status and management of Black Swans at Lake Ellesmere atthis at Ilimo Farm 1978 exvlained. (B.W. Finch) 8 since the 'Wahine' storm, April 1968. (M. Williams) 3441 Description of immature ~oiia's~awk ~egatriorchis doriae. How the Mac~uarieIsland Parakeet became extinct. (R.H. (B.W. Finch) 9-10 Taylor) 4245 - Sight record of a probable Grey Falcon Falco hypoleucos on A theoretical assessment of the ability of bird species to the Aroa Plain. (B.W. Finch) 11-12 recover from an imposed reduction in numbers, with particu- Some observations on the birds of Northern Guadalcanal, lar reference to 1080 poisoning. (E.B. Spurr) 46-63 Solomon Islands. (D. Henderson) 14-18 Communal breeding of Pukeko: do the helpers really help? Species recorded in the Laloki Valley, Port Moresby. (Anon.) (J.L. Craig) 86-87 24-42 Breeding of the Shining Cuckoo at Kowhai Beach, Kaikoura. Proc. R. Soc. Vict. 92 (2) 1981 (B.J. Gill) 89-90 Wetlands of Victoria 11. Wetlands and waterbirds of South inter-relationships of feral stock, sea birds and vegetation on Gippsland (A.H. Corrick) 187-200 Campbell Island. (P.R. Wilson) 92-93 Some recent changes in the flora and avifauna of Rabbit NZ J. Ecol. 3 1980 Island, Wilsons Promontory. (F.I. Norman and M.P. Harris) Effect on birds of spraying DDT and DDD in orchards. (P.R. 209-213 Wilson) 117-124 Rec. West. Aust. Mus. 9 (1) 1981 Some emipirical information concerning the diet of . Notes on the distribution, ecology and taxonomy of the (C.J. Burrows) 125-130 Red-crowned Pigeon Ptilinopus regina and Torres Strait Winter use by Takahe Notornis mantelli of the summer-green Pigeon Ducula bicolor in Western Australia. (R.E. Johnstone) fern Hypolepis mil(efolium in relation to its annual cycle of 7-22 carbohydrates & minerals. (J.A. Mills et al.) 131-137 Notes on the distribution, ecology and taxonomy of the Foods of the Shining Cuckoo Chrysococcyx lucidus in New Partridge Pigeon Geophaps smithii and Spinifex Pigeon Zealand. (B.J. Gill) 138-140 Geophaps plumifera in Western Australia. (R.E. Johnstone) NZ J. Zool. 7 (4) 1980 49-64 Feeding ecology of Rooks Corvus frugilegus on the Here- Birds of the northeastern interior of Western Australia. taunga Plains, Hawke's Bay, NZ. (T.P.G. Purchas) 557-578 (G.M. Storr) 65-99 Selection of carrion by the Australasian Harrier Circus Tasm. Nat. (64) 1981 approximans in New Zealand. (H.A. Robertson) 579-583 Plumage changes in the Banded Stilt. (L.E. Wall) 7 PNG Bird Soc. Newi. (173-174) 1980 The ~ifousUThistler in Tasmania. (F.P. ~oster)'8 Black Swan: a new species for the New Guinea region. (B.M. Tasm. Nat. (65) 1981 Beehler) 3 Nesting notes on Lewin's Rail and Spotless Crake in north- Chestnut Teal at Bensback, Western Province: a new species east Tasmania. (T.A. Singline) 6-7 for the New Guinea region. (N.R.H. Stronock) 3 Victorian Nat. 97 (6) 1980 Welcome Swallow at Aroa Lagoon, Central Province: a new The orange-bellied : species endangered by improperly species for the New Guinea region. (B.W. Finch) 4-5 assessed development. (R.C. Anderson et al.) 235-247. Rediscovery of the Fly-River Grassbird Megalurus albolim- The flora and avifauna of Dannevig, Norman and Wattle Is- batus in the Bensbach River System, Western Province. lands, Wilsons Promontory, Vic. (F.I. Norman et a1.J 249-257 (B.W. Finch) 6-12 Observations on the vulnerability of two species of wattled Discovery of the Zitting Cisticola in the Bensbach floodplain, bats Chalinolobus to avian predators. (R.A. Young) 258-262 Western Province. (B.W. Finch) 13-17 Female Chestnut Teal calls the tune. (M.Schuk) 268 Speculation on the occurence of some birds in the Musa