REVIEWS EDITED BY JOHN WILLIAM HARDY Eagles, hawks and falcons of the worid.--Leslie Brown and Dean Amadon. 1968. New York, McGraw-Hill Book Co. 2 vols. 945 pp., 180 pls., 94 maps, 33 text figs., 3 tables. Cloth, boxed. $59.50.--Nearly 3 years have elapsedsince this ambitious work became available, and it has already undergone extensive review by severalprominent ornithologists in England and America (e.g. Lack, Ibis, 112: 271, 1970; Parkes, Wilson Bull., 82: 230, 1970; Ratcliffe, Birds, 2: 310, 1970; Spofford, Science,169: 572, 1970; Thomson, Nature, 222: 701, 1969). While yet another review might seem superfluous,there is some value in having had time to evaluate the book's impact on raptor biologistsand ornithologistsin general, and to further assesscomparative strengths and weaknesseson the basis (in my own case) of almost daily use. The book appearedat an opportunetime, coincidingwith an upsurgeof interest in raptors that stemmed,at least in part, from the pesticidecontroversy. Despite some rather strident criticism of the book's price (cf. Parkes), I have found it among the proud possessionsof a rather broad spectrumof falconiform-oriented types, ranging from wealthy dilettantesto impecuniousgraduate students. To the raptor subculture,"Brown and Amadon" are already householdwords and the two-volume set is established as a standard work. The authorspresent impressive credentials, and there can be no questionregarding their competenceto undertakea project of this magnitude. Leslie Brown has had extensivefield experiencein Africa, where he was for many years a resourcead- ministrator for the government of Kenya, and in Scotland. He has conducted significant researchon African raptors and Scottish Golden Eagles. Dean Areadon, Lainout Curator of Birds and Chairman of the Department of Ornithology at the American Museum of Natural History, brought to the project a wealth of ex- periencein systematicsand evolution of birds as well as additional field experience in America and Australia. Brown and Areadon tell us that their intent was to "bring together in one work all the available knowledgeon the diurnal birds of prey of the world"; considering the inherent difficulties in achieving this goal, they have done very well indeed. Some of the other reviewershave complainedthat the authors seem not to have had a clear perceptionof their prospectiveaudience, i.e. whether it would mainly consistof general readers enamored of lavish bird books, or seriousraptor students. I think we may safely conclude that the authors have produced a significant pro- fessional treatise and at the same time provided a great deal for the interested amateur. Turning now to content and format, the first 150 pages of the first volume comprise18 chaptersdevoted to general biology, systematics,and (briefly) conserva- tion of diurnal raptors. This section constitutes a valuable summary of general knowledge regarding birds of prey, although there are some important omissions and some theoretical conclusions that have elicited much debate among raptor students. Their treatment of raptor phylogeny,for instance,has been criticized by Spofford and others. The authors are at their best when they consider a given phenomenon(e.g. sexual size dimorphism) in the light of many possibleexplana- tions or hypotheses. I agree with the other reviewers that the skimpy treatment of raptor conservationis most lamentable; here, howeYer, was an example of the 201 202 Reviews [Auk, Vol. 89 text material having been completed several years before problems involving pesticidesand habitat destructionhad reachedtheir current magnitudes. The balanceof the two volumesis then devotedto systematics,keys, and the individualspecies accounts. Each genusis given a brief diagnosticnote, and the treatment of separatespecies embodies data on range, description,field characters, voice,and ecology.Obviously those species that were well-knownto the authors or for which an extensiveliterature exists are givenmore exhaustivetreatment than poorly-knownspecies. Evidently a paucity of information was available to the authorseven on somewidespread American species. To cite an exampleclose to home, it is surprisinghow much additionalinformation is added to Brown and Amadon'saccount of the FerruginousHawk, Buteoregalis, by Weston'srecent study of the nestingecology of this species(in Murphy et al., BrighamYoung Univ. Sci. Bull., 10: 25-34, 1969). The illustrationsare manifestlyof pivotalimportance in a work that incorporates figuresof everyspecies of diurnalraptor. The majorityof the plates(125 out of 165) are in color,and representthe effortsof eight British and Americanartists. Parkeshas commentedin detailon the poorquality of reproductionof manyof the plates;although this is certainlynot the fault of either the artistsor the authors,I secondhis expressedhope that future printingsof the book will fare much better in this respect.I am alsonot the first to remarkthat the mixingof the stylesand techniquesof the differentartists is distracting.Uneven quality is apparent;this is rather dramaticallyexemplified by a comparisonof the adjacent platesof two of the largesteagles, Harpia harpyja (P1. 110) and Pithecophaga ]eJ)•eryi(P1. 111). I can find other"picky" complaints; for example,Plate 98 depictsButeo swainsoni and B. regalisin whatis obviouslymontane coniferous forest habitat,certainly not typicalfor the majorityof populationsof thesespecies. Yet, takenin total, the platesrepresent what is undoubtedlythe finestcollection of raptor portraitsbetween one set of covers,and as suchare an important contribu- tion in themselves. Additionalillustrative materials include a set of 15 platesdepicting underwing patternsa la Peterson,and 94 setsof rangemaps. Theseare both valuableaddenda, althoughtheir positioning (one set at theend of eachvolume) makes cross-referencing to the text rather awkward. Despitethe useof high qualitypaper, eminently readable type and a generally handsomeappearance, there are some rather serious technical and editorial problems involving the book's format. I would not wish to minimize the difficulties the authorsmust have experienced in workingon separatecontinents, with the original publisheron yet a third. Most of the problemsin format seemto be clearlythe fault of the publisherand his editors,rather than of the authors.Perhaps the leastsatisfactory aspect is the methodof literaturecitation and bibliographicstyle. Many significantstatements in the text are unsubstantiatedby appropriatereferences to the literature,and whensuch citations do occur•they are often so crypticas to be almostuseless. Lists of referencesat the end of eachchapter in the introductory sectionare also unsatisfactory;the style of citation is inconsistentand selectionof materialsto be includedhighly arbitrary (for example,the chapteron territory has no terminalreferences). Another complaint: there are separateindices for each volumebut both are placedtogether at the end of VolumeTwo, an arrangement I have found cumbersome.Finally, it is to be hopedthat the rather frequent spellingerrors will be correctedin future printings. To summarizemy own impressions,I view the book as an outstandingand indispensablework. It should not be characterizedas "definitive," for there is January 1972] Reviews 203 still a great deal to be learned about diurnal raptors, especiallypertaining to their ecology and behavior. The book itself will serve as a stimulant to further re- search,in that it points up those areas of general knowledgeand those individual speciesin need of additional research effort. This catalytic effect is already ap- parent; in recent months I have read several raptor manuscripts in preparation or review, and in each case some indebtednessto "Brown and Amadon" was acknowledged.The authorscan be assuredthat despitesome of the aforementioned shortcomings,they have produceda work that will meet important professional needs and elicit admiration for many years to come.--JosEP• R. Species taxa of North American birds.--Ernst Mayr and Lester L. Short. 1970. Publ. Nuttall Ornithol. Club, No. 9. Pp. 1-127, 8 tables. Cloth. $4.00.-- This work is designedto present an updated, taxonomic classificationof breeding North American birds (north of Mexico), based on the biological speciesconcept and on expressionof relationship nomenclaturally through use of the superspecies. Systematic arrangements concentrate on the genus category and lower; families are listed but do not differ from the treatment in the 5th edition of the A.O.U. Check-list (1957), while higher categoriesare not mentioned at all. While it is clear that no two taxonomistswill agree on the specieslimits of as many as the 607 biological species recognized herein (indeed, even the coauthors admittedly disagree on at least one case), the need for such an in-depth study of North Americanbirds is unquestioned.Modern conceptsof the genusand species,as well as generalknowledge, have changedconsiderably since the appearanceof the 1957 Check-list, producingmany differences. The trend of broadeningthe genus in ornithologyis continued: 56 generarecognized in the Checkdistare sunk in other genera therein, while 8 more are combined with extralimital ones. Introductory portions of the text include a discussionof the biological species conceptand its applicabilityhere. While use of this conceptis not widely accepted in some areas of zoology, it is at present generally followed by ornithological taxonomists and its discussionhere seems superfluous,especially in view of the many