REVIEWS

EDITED BY WILLIAM E. SOUTHERN

Thefollowing reviews express the opinions of theindividual reviewers regarding the strengths, weaknesses, and value of thebooks they review. As such, they are subjective evaluations and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of theeditors or any officalpolicy of the A.O.U. Eds.

The Shelduck: A study in behavioural ecology.-- for explaining many of the variablesin behavior and, I. J. Patterson. 1982. Cambridge, Cambridge Univer- indeed, is the main theme related to population lim- sity Press.x + 276 pp., 10 black-and-white drawings, itation that recursin discussionsthroughout the book. 101 figures, 68 tables. $49.50.--Traditionally, ethol- While this certainly seemsa proper emphasis,the ogistshave emphasizedstudies of causation,ontog- lack of precisedata on body weight in terms of pro- eny, evolution, and physiologicalbases of behavior, tein and lipids and the confounding variablesrelated often without concern for ecologicalvariables (e.g. to whole body weights (e.g. trap bias, gut contents, food supply) or relationships to population density. and prolonged breeding season so that individuals Similarly, population ecologists have emphasized are at different stagesof the reproductivecycle) re- numerical values in relation to ecological variables suit in a large amount of logical speculationand con- without data on variability of individuals or social clusionswithout critical data. Strengthsof the treat- behavior. Recent attempts to integrate ethology, ment are data on birds of known age and data on ecology,and population biology with the theory of food supply and use. Chapter 2 concludeswith a natural selectionhave produced a new field that is rather lengthy treatment of world distribution of now commonly termed Behavioral Ecology (e.g.J.R. Shelducksand the molt migration (pp. 17-39). Much Krebs and N. D. Davies (Eds.) 1978. Behavioral ecol- of this struck me as distracting detail, given the main ogy. Oxford, Blackwell Scientific Publications).This theme and strength of the book. integration providesa more full understandingof an Thereafter, the book proceeds in chapter form animal'sbehavior based upon knowledgeof costsand through the annual cycle. Chapter 3 treats gregari- benefits in terms of fitness of alternative modes of ousness in the winter flock. This section contains some action and organization in relation to population excellent data on arrival of Shelducks on breeding density and ecologicalvariables. Testing of ideas in estuariesin relation to age and sex (oldest and males BehavioralEcology will be assistedby detailed field first, 4+ yr olds preceding 3-yr olds, which precede studies using individually identifiable animals. 2-yr olds, which precedeyearlings), the common re- The goal of Patterson'sbook is to usedata collected pairing of previouslymated birds, spatial organiza- in a seriesof individual studiesby himself and sev- tion, the preponderanceof feeding activity in winter eral colleagues,dating back to 1960, on the ecology (February--63% of time), and the replacementof this and behavior of the Common Shelduck (Tadorna ta- activity with agonistic interactions and other behav- dorna)to addressseveral issues of behavioralecology, iors as the breeding seasonapproaches. Brief descrip- especiallythe effectsof socialbehavior on the limi- tions of displays are followed by much detail on tation of population size. Shelduckswere considered dominance(most of which waspreviously published excellentsubjects for studybecause of their relatively in journal format,but is neededhere for the integrity large size, conspicuousappearance, varied socialbe- of the book). Clear dominance hierarchies were evi- havior, and existence in small and accessible local dent that were related especially to pair-bonding, populationsin the estuariesof Great Britain. suggesting that females might stimulate aggres- Following a brief (Chapter 1:4 pp.) introduction sion-or prefer the more dominant males. Interest- of the subjectof behavioralecology, the author pro- ingly, dominance did not relate consistently to ad- ceedsin Chapter 2 with a treatment of the taxonomic vantage in obtaining territories, nor to successin positionand descriptionof Shelducks,which exhibit rearing broods,nor to survival. Facedwith these re- many goose-likecharacteristics (e.g. lack of conspic- suits, Pattersonsuggests that maintenanceof pair- uous sexual dimorphism, prolonged parental care, bonds may have been the main selection force for persistentpair bonds)combined with morphological dominant, aggressivebehavior, while leaving open and molt featuresthat are duck-like. The compari- the possibility that breeding population size might sonsend there, however, as there is virtually no fur- be regulatedby dominanceeven though this was only ther referenceto other waterfowl (or pertinent lit- weakly, if at all, supportedby the evidence. erature) thereafter. Included in the description is a Chapter 4 deals with the territory. Much interest- characterizationof body-weight changesfrom mid- ing informationis presentedhere, especiallybecause winter through the breeding season. These data, densities of food items were measured. Surviving however, are lumped averagesof weights of birds pairs tended to occupythe sameterritory (80%),while capturedin eachmonth. Energy is the currencyused males with new mates tended to follow females to

759 760 Reviews [Auk, Vol. 100 their old territories. Territory size did not decrease female) probably promoted brood-mixing as well as with an increasein food supply and ducks seemed the tendency for young to move away from adults to settle only where suitablefood was present.Ter- and follow other pairs. There was no consistency ritories are of further interest in Shelducks because among years on which adults accompaniedcreches they do not containthe nest site nor are they the site other than that they were themselvesbirds which of pair formation or brood rearing. They are, instead, had hatchedyoung. The significanceof brood-mix- an area in which the female can feed intensely with- ing still needs study. Chapter 8 continues the dis- out being disturbedby conspecifics(71% of her time cussionwith respect to duckling survival. Approxi- during the pre-egg-layingphase and 80-90% during mately35% of the young fledged,but this washighly incubation recesses). While these data are convinc- variable (9-66%). Most losses occurred in the first ing, it certainly would be nice to have more infor- week of life and were inversely related to density mation on the role of stored reservesversus daily (although not consistentlyso). There was some evi- intake to meet the energy demandsof reproduction. dencethat a lower proportion of ducklings in mixed Even though Pattersonconcludes that territorial be- broodssurvived than ducklingsin single broodsand havior has been selectedfor becauseit provides an that lack of brooding during inclement weather was undisturbed feeding area for the female, he admits a contributing factor. A discussionof costsand ben- that territoriesmay function in limiting density in efits of single versus mixed broods in terms of risk local populations, but notes that this aspect needs to predation, interaction with weather, and freedom more quantitative study. for adults to feed and migrate points out possibilities Chapter5 detailsShelduck behavior associated with deservingof researchbut doesnot answer the ques- searchingfor nest sites,which were usuallyburrows tions in a satisfactorymanner. Of interest here were in sand dunesaway from the estuarinemud-flat ter- data revealing that "donor" parents were dominant ritories. Shelducksare again unusual in that they are over "recipients" in 12 of 14 cases.There were no semi-gregariousduring this activity and are attracted differences in survival of adults that hatched broods, to other birds on the ground in the nesting area just fledged broods,or did not hatch broods.After duck- a relatively short distancefrom the territory, in which lings fledged,adults departedon the molt migration, they are highly defensive(although agonismis evi- with males often leaving first. dent when two or more pairs come together in the The annual cycle is brought full circle with a dis- nesting area, they clearly are attractedto eachother). cussion of recruitment and the nonterritorial flock in Discussion of costs and benefits of this behavior tends Chapter 9. This section highlights implications for to be teleologically phrased and indicates the need the study of gene flow and the complexityof social for more study (antipredator advantagesrelated to organizationthat can only be observedin wild pop- vigilance and/or learning of the location of "good" ulationswith marked individuals.Although therewas nest sites). Because Shelduck nest sites were so dif- unity in the sex ratio in the population, only 26% of ficult to find and the birds tended to desert easily, returning yearlings were male. Acquisition of terri- this aspectof the studywas frustratinglydifficult and, tories by age classeswas as follows: none as year- correspondingly,weak in comparisonto other data. lings, hAat 2 yr of age, • at 3 yr of age, and all that Egg laying and incubationare treated in Chapter were going to have territories did so by age 4; ap- 6. Clutches were initiated over an extended period proximately20% of older birds were not territorial (mid-April to mid-June) and there was no evidence in any given year. From there the discussionof em- of renesting. Again, teleologicalphrasing is evident igration goeson in much detail; this treatment is in- (e.g.p. 142, "... to make sure they were not observed direct and relatively weak, although I am sympa- at the nest by predatorsor other Shelducks";p. 146, thetic with the author's desire to place his "... to indicate to the female that the coast is clear observationson this important and difficult-to-study for her to emerge"). Parasiticegg-laying confounds aspectof life history on record. the data on clutch size and nest success (common in Patterson'shypothesis is that recruitmentwas lim- hole-nesting ducks). Becauseof the difficulties de- ited by food, which was assessedby Shelducksas scribedabove relating to finding nests and human- they returned to original breeding areasor moved causeddesertion in addition to parasiticlaying, this through other estuaries.This is supportedby obser- section is relatively weak (more frustrating to the vations that represent one of the strengths of the author than to the reader, I feel sure). study,as flock distributioncould be manipulatedby Extendedbrood care by both parentsis described the provisioningof food by the investigator.Food in much detail in Chapter7, which readslike a long suppliesare a cornerstoneof many theories of pop- journal paper and is somewhatdistracting to the main ulation regulationand spacingbehavior but there are theme of the book. Interestingly, and perhaps sur- few quantitative testsof the ideas.Briefly, the results prisingly, ducklingswere not taken to the territory, of the feeding experiment were as follows. Food but instead they congregated, and brood-mixing (soaked wheat) was supplied on a portion of the (creches) was common. Violent encounters among mudflat in 2 yr in May after the flock had stabilized adult pairs (male fighting male and female fighting in numbers; the number of flock birds increased from July1983] Reviews 761

40 to 58% within a day or two of food being provid- scription and the other 8 refer to techniques or to ed. The proportionof the flock in the sectionof the now somewhat dated studies (these references are estuarywhere food was supplied rose from 8 to 74%. 1954 to 1959, with two from 1965). Nine of the 30 During the control years,flock size decreasedfrom 1 citationsfrom North America refer to classicdescrip- to 16%during the comparablephenological time pe- tions of territory or home range, including works on riod. mammals,published between 1939 and 1959. There The final chapter (10) attempts to integrate the are only six referencesto North American literature available information by coming to a conclusionon dealing with theoretical aspectsof territory, energy, factorslimiting population size. Shelduck numbers and dominancepublished since 1963. I am not sure in Great Britain have been increasing for 20 yr for to what degree this is a significantgeneral problem, reasonsthat are not entirely clear. Pattersonsuggests but to the degree that it is, this book illustrates the that nutrient enrichment of estuaries and more ef- phenomenon. fective protectionmay have been influential. Data on Having said that, and having commented on other survival rates were based on meager samples and weak aspectsabove, I conclude that the strengths of analyzed by old-fashionedmethods (Haldane's max- the book far outweigh the problems.I enjoyed it and imum-likelihood for incomplete data, following the believe the author achieved his main objective with procedureprovided in Murton, R. K. 1966.The Stat- the data available on a difficult subject.I strongly istician 16: 183). Mean annual survival was 69% and support the author's goal of integrating the study of 62% for birds banded as adults and ducklings, re- individually identifiable animalsof known socialsta- spectively. Of more interest to me were data on tus in a location where food was measured (and ex- survival (return) based on observations of the color- perimentallymanipulated), and the resultsrelated to marked individuals. Using this method, the mean mortality, reproductiveoutput, and emigration. This annual return rate was 78%, and territorial birds ex- is a most difficult task, and Patterson deserveshigh hibited an 89% mean annual return rate. These data compliments for his perseveranceand insight. The illustratenicely the value of markedindividuals and work will be invaluable in any future comparative how survival (and immigration) was related to social treatment of the family Anatidae and also should be status.Patterson suggests that bandedShelducks that usefulin many more generalreviews of animal social were likely to be recoveredafter death had lower behavior and population regulation. It should be survival rates than average. availablein universitylibraries and in collectionsof The major conclusiondeveloped is that immigra- investigatorsof thesesubjects.--DENNIS G. RAVELING. tion and emigration,driven by food availability for territory establishment,were the majorfactors influ- encing year-to-year fluctuationsin numbers. Breed- Resource competition and community struc- ing output and mortality seemedto have little effect ture.--David Tilman. 1982. Princeton, New Jersey, on subsequentnumbers. Princeton University Press.xi + 296 pp., 98 text fig- Following are some additional general impres- ures. $27.50(cloth), $9.95 (paper).--Considerationsof sions.Colleagues have on occasionpointed out to me resourceslie at the hub of all ecologicaland evolu- that ornithologists(perhaps particularly those study- tionary investigations.Virtually all of our theory that ing waterfowl) in North America and in the Old relates to foraging behavior, population dynamics, World frequently have an antipathy for, or lack of speciesinteractions, and the like is founded on the knowledge of, eachother's publishedworks. Indeed, dynamicsof resourcesand their exploitation.More I havebeen criticized for this myself,so what follows often than not, however, resourcesare taken as a giv- is an attempt to illustrate this subject.Because Shel- en in attempts to test such theory, and are not ex- ducks do not occur in North America, one would plicitly considered, much less measured. To para- perhapsnot expectfrequent citationof North Amer- phrase Mark Twain's comment on the weather, ican literature. This book is not just a monograph on everyonetalks about resourcesbut nobody doesany- a species,however, but an attempt to integrate the thing about them. subjects of behavioral ecology. Therefore, I was David Tilman's book represents an attempt to do somewhatsurprised at the almost total lack of cita- something about resourcesand how we consider them tion of contributions from North America on most of in ecologicalstudies. Tilman's objectiveis to develop the subjectstreated in this book, especiallya large and use a simple, graphical theory of consumer-re- literature on theoretical aspectsof avian social be- source interactions to assess the effects of resource havior including many fine comparative studies of competition on the speciescomposition and diversity waterfowl. Similarly, important works on bioener- of natural communities. While the theoretical ap- getics,analyses of bandingdata, and populationcon- proach is broadly based,the primary emphasisin its trol are neglected.For example, only 30 of 245 (12%) application is upon plant communities, an emphasis references are to North American authors. Of these, that reflectsthe early interest of plant ecologistsin there are only 12 referencesto waterfowl, but 4 of the role of resourcesand, especially,the relative ease these are to general treatmentsof taxonomyand de- with which plant nutrient resourcescan be measured 762 Reviews [Auk, Vol. 100 in comparison to many animal resources. Not coin- term effects of the consumer-resourceprocess and... cidentally, it turns out that the theory works much an assumptionof equilibrium is inherently simpler better for plants than for animals. than an assumptionthat a given observationcan only Tilman defines a resourceas "any substanceor fac- be understood in terms of non-equilibrium process- tor which can lead to increased growth rates as its es. This is not to imply that non-equilibrium pro- availability in the environment is increased, and cessesare unimportant, but rather that it is most ap- which is consumedby an organism" (p. 11). Recog- propriate to consider the simpler, equilibrium nizing that a speciesmay potentially be limited by explanationsfirst." This may indeed be so, but it turns several factors,Tilman develops a classificationof re- out to be easier to deal with equilibrium assumptions source types that is based upon their interactions in in the theory than in the real world. Tilman develops determining the growth rate of a species.His devel- at some length the responsesof plant speciesto ex- opment of this classification is thoughtful, and it perimental fertilization treatmentson plots at Roth- comes into play repeatedly through the volume. In amsted, England, that were initiated over a century all cases,however, the key attributes of a resource, ago, in the context of his theory's treatment of re- by Tilman's definition, are that it is limiting (in that sourceratios; he notes in passing,however, that the it directly influences growth rates) and that it is con- plant community may not yet have reached a new sumed.Food or specific nutrients may thus be re- equilibrium species composition, which somewhat sources, as may space for many sessile organisms; compromiseshis use of this example. temperature is not a resource, nor are some of the Within these restrictions and with several other favorite niche dimensions that some ornithologists assumptions(all clearly stated), Tilman proceeds to have used repeatedly, such as foraging height, fo- develop his graphical theory and then to apply it to liage height diversity, or time of activity. a variety of aspectsof community structuring. In or- Tilman is clearly concerned with the effects of der to predict the equilibrium outcome of resource competition over resourceson community structure, competition, however, one must have information and this undoubtedly has contributed to his empha- on the reproductive or growth response of each sis on limitation. As he notes (p. 96), "resourcecom- speciesto the resources,the mortality rate experi- petition theory predicts that naturally coexisting enced by each species,the supply rate of each re- speciesshould have differing requirements for lim- source,and the consumptionrate of eachresource by iting resources,but places no constraints on the re- each species.This is an ambitious listing of desider- quirements of speciesfor non-limiting resources.It ata,perhaps attainable for somenutrient-limited plant is imperative that ecologicalstudies of resourcecom- populationsbut unlikely for mostanimal species.Til- petition focuson thoseresources which actually limit man's emphasis upon plant communities becomes speciesin their natural habitats, if the results of the more understandable. experiments are to be used to interpret patterns in The theory is nonethelessof considerableinterest, the natural world. Although studies of competition and Tilman does a masterful job of presenting it for resourceswhich are never limiting in nature have clearly and thoroughly. A variety of interesting pre- someshort-term heuristic value, in the long term such dictions emerge from this treatment, such as: (1) In- studies may confuse much more than they clarify." dividuals should not consume excessquantities of a To his credit, Tilman is explicit about his restriction nonlimiting resource,as this would place them at a of resource limitation, but it does create a certain competitive disadvantageto organismsthat do not awkwardness at times. A factor that is a resource at do so. (2) When severalspecies compete for the same one time, for example, may no longer be a resource limiting resource,the one with the lowest equilib- at some later time when some other factor becomes rium resourcerequirement will displacethe others, more limiting to the species.Tilman does attempt to as it can reduce the level of the resource below that consider such problems in his treatment of resource required for the other speciesto maintain stablepop- interactions, but his resolution of this problem of ulations. (3) The speciesdiversity of plant commu- when a factor is or isn't a resource is not entirely nities should be maximal in habitats with low nu- satisfying.Further, by confining considerationto fac- trient levels, and should decrease with increasing tors that are limiting and the objectof potential com- productivity. (4) Unless random elements are incor- petition, Tilman's approach ignores a good deal of porated into the model, it does not seem to predict the dynamicsof individuals and populationsthat may previously hypothesized species-abundancedistri- relate to nonlimiting factors. butions, such as lognormal or geometric. (5) If the Closely linked to the requirement of limitation in speciesin a communitydiffer in the relative propor- Tilman's treatment is the assumptionof equilibrium: tions of nutrients or resourcesthat they require, then the theory predicts the equilibrium structure of com- in a spatially heterogeneousenvironment numerous munities based upon resource competition. Again, speciesmay coexistat equilibrium. (6) The species Tilman is explicit about this equilibrium approach, that is the superior competitor for a resource will and justifies it as follows (p. 5): "it explores the long- become less dominant as that resource is added to July 1983] Reviews 763 the system,but will become increasingly dominant ing for any ecologistor evolutionary biologist, re- as the resourcefor which it is the inferior competitor gardlessof the organismsstudied.--JoHN A. WIENS. is added. These are intriguing predictions, and Til- man frequently suggestslines of researchthat could provide critical tests. The emergenceof ornithologyas a scientificdis- The concludingchapter is in many ways the most cipline: 1760-1850.--Paul Lawrence Farber. 1982. interesting,especially to animal ecologists.Here Til- Boston,D. Reidel PublishingCompany. xxi + 191 pp. man evaluatesand extends his model, in an openly $39.50(cloth).--The title of this long-awaitedmono- speculative manner. All sorts of interesting things graph should include the word Europe,since the au- emerge.He suggeststhat the processof plant succes- thor discussesdevelopments that occurredin certain sion may be understood as a consequence of the Europeancountries during the 1760-1850 period. In changing ratios of limiting resourcesthrough time-- contrastto existing schoolsof thought that view the as the resourceratios change, speciesthat are limited transformation of natural history either as a direct by particular ratioscome and go, in an orderly fash- one into modern biology or as an "intellectual shift" ion. He reiterates his earlier conclusion that the ad- from natural history to a history of nature, Farberin dition of spatial heterogeneity to a model of com- his introductionstresses the complexityof the story. petition for two resourcesleads to the equilibrium Recommending both synthetic and comparative ap- coexistenceof an unlimited number of species,but proaches,the author usesornithology as a casestudy adding a trophic level to such a model also generates of the emergenceof severaldisparate disciplines that the prediction of unlimited speciespacking on a sin- have their roots in eighteenth-centurynatural his- gle limiting resource.Relaxation of the assumption tory. of equilibrium has the effect of predicting that an Farber startswith bird study as a "neglected liter- unlimited number of speciescan persist on one or a ary activity" in the mid-eighteenth century, when few limiting resources,even in a homogeneoushab- birds were not yet the subjectof thorough, scientific itat. The general model thus seemsrather sensitive. study. Seriousworks on ornithology began with the to these realities of nature; as Tilman notes, much publication of Mathurin-Jaques Brisson's"Ornithol- more experimental work will be required to deter- ogie" in 1760, a work that Farbet considersa good mine the relative importanceof these influences. example of the "collection-catalogue"approach to Finally, Tilman explores why there are so many natural history.Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buf- plant speciesin relation to the number of limiting fon, in his "Histoire Naturelie des Oiseaux" (1770- resources (he calculates a plant: resource ratio of 1783), the secondpart of the 36 volumes of his "His- 10,000:1), especially in comparison to animals (a toires Naturelies" (1749-1788), had a different ap- species:resourceratio of 1:1). The key, Tilman be- proach. Buffon, like S. F. Baird in America nearly a lieves, lies in how plants versus animals are limited century later, was at the center of a large network of by resources,and how this affectstheir sensitivity to government-funded collectors, which enabled him spatial heterogeneity. For plants, most resourcesare to increase the collections of the Cabinet du Roi. De- essential:one nutrient may not substitutefor another spite this, Buffoh'sideal was not a catalogueor taxo- limiting nutrient. Most animals, on the other hand, nomic treatisebut insteada seriesof natural-history use resourcesthat may be nutritionally substitutable articleson each speciesof birds. He stressedthe im- for one another; these may be used in a switching portanceof field studies,but as thesewere not prev- manner. A spatially heterogeneoushabitat may per- alent at the time he had to survey the existingliter- mit seemingly unlimited diversity among organisms ature for all possibleinformation on birds. "Planches such as plants that are limited by essentialresources, enlumin•es" (colored plates) by the painter F. N. but for resource-switchingorganisms there can be no Martinet were an important addition to two of the more speciesthan there are resources,regardless of more expensive editions of this natural history of the amount of habitat heterogeneity. birds. They provided important information much I believe that Tilman's book is one of the most appreciatedby later naturalists,because stuffed spec- thoughtful considerationsof resourcesand their ef- imens at the time deteriorated quickly due to inad- fects upon ecologicalsystems to have emerged in de- equate taxidermic techniques but the exquisite color cades.I may not agree entirely with Tilman's view plates did not change. An added attraction was the of what resourcesreally are or with his emphasison high literary quality of Buffon'sprose. equilibrial, competition systems.These restrictions, The period 1780-1830 was a time of increased co- however, enable him to develop an intriguing mod- lonial expansionby France,Britain, Germany, and el, and Tilman takes pains to detail such limitations, Holland. This resultedin an influx of natural-history explore their effects, and propose further directions specimens from South America, Africa, the East In- for research."Resource competition and community dies, and Australia and the Pacific region. Scientific structure" is surely one of the best volumes in the expeditions,some of which were funded by govern- PrincetonMonographs series, and it is essentialread- ments and public institutions and others by wealthy 764 Reviews [Auk,Vol. 100

individuals, provided additional specimensand in- plete catalogue of birds that, in essence,defined or- formation. The increaseof ornithologicalmaterial nithology; that is demarcatedit from the study of all enabled a larger number of naturalists than ever be- other living beings" (1982: 119). In saying this, many fore to studyand attemptto classifybirds. Pursuing other advancesin ornithology, particularly those in his thesison the transformationof naturalhistory, Germany, are ignored. With the emphasis on the Farberemphasizes that the sheeramount and variety pursuit of a complete catalogue of the birds of the of new natural-historyspecimens, a by-productof world, one must conclude that any change in orni- the colonialexpansion, aided the splittingtip of nat- thology from the mid-eighteenth to the mid-nine- ural history into a seriesof taxon-orientedspecial- teenth century was only quantitative and that there izationsand provided the main impetusfor the dif- were no theoretical advances. After all, there were ferentiation of ornithology. Although he argues more specimensavailable and more scientiststo study convincingly, many ornithologistsand historiansof them than ever before. Brisson and Buffon, with their sciencemay find something lacking in this some- much smaller data base,were just more aware of the what narrowview of the emergenceof ornithology, impossibility of such an attempt in the late eigh- becausethe authorconcentrates on the development teenth century. of the classification of birds and minimizes advances To me, the argument concerning the emergence of made in other areasof ornithology."Minor" tradi- ornithology as a disciplineis not entirely convincing. tions, such as life history, anatomy, morphology, One cannot refute that ornithology, as one of the monographson individual species,or local and re- taxon-oriented sciences,was in the processof differ- gional avifaunas,which were becomingmore prev- entiation from other branchesof natural history. It alent in Germany and England, are mentioned but is questionable, however, whether it could be cate- consideredsecondary to the developmentof classi- gorized as a discipline toward the secondhalf of the fication.Very little is written about the practitioners nineteenth century.The emerging field of ornithol- of these minor traditions, so their full contributions ogy, even in 1850, lacked some of the requirements to science cannot be assessed from this book. of a scientific discipline, although other important In the secondhalf of the monographthe author factorswere already present.There was a group of repeatedlyrefers to a largegroup of internationally widely spacedspecialists concerned with more or less recognized experts who concentrated on fruitful common goals (i.e. the study and classification of questionsof researchand worked on commongoals birds). These specialistsinteracted at certain meet- in ornithology.How theseareas of study were se- ings of scientificassociations. They publishedbooks lected and by whom is never elaboratedon. The size on birds. They alsopublished an increasingnumber of the ornithologicalcommunity of Europeis not de- of specializedarticles in natural historyjournals and fined, exceptby quoting the namesof 29 ornitholo- in the proceedings and transactions of various sci- gists from Hugh Strickland's1844 "Report on the entific societies.These articles were already written recentprogress and presentstate of ornithology."Nor for other specialistsrather than for the lay public. is this group of experts,not detailedas extensively There were also institutionswhere ornithologywas as in Strickland, compared with or contrastedto the pursued,since by the 1840sthe curiositycabinets of practitionersin other branchesof natural history. wealthy dilettanteshad been largedly replaced by Moreover,while Stricklandconsidered ornithology "working museums." in the 1840s"in a lessadvanced state than many oth- One important facet of disciplinarization was miss- er departmentsof zoology"(1845: 170), the impres- ing during this period. There was no training and sion is given by Farber'sbook that ornithology at certificationof a new generation of specialists.With- that time was more advancedthan other specializa- out this important developmentalfactor a discipline tions of naturalhistory. It "was amongthe first de- cannot exist. Methods, standards,and goals can be partments of natural history to emerge as an inde- found in an emerging scientific field. Scientific as- pendent discipline and ... was central in the sociations are usually established when there is a theoreticaldebates, institutional developments, and critical massof scientistsworking on problems that popular appeal of natural history" (1982: 123). separatetheir field from all others. The transmission If one considersStrickland's detailed descriptions of knowledge and techniques are unavoidable re- concerning ornithological advances in areas other quirementsof disciplinarization.If therewas any such than taxonomy,it is hard to imagine that, in view of training of future ornithologistsduring the period the greatly increasedinterest and scientificactivity under discussion, it is not mentioned in this mono- in ornithology in the 1830-1845 period, fruitful graph. It is much more correct,therefore, to consider questionsonly stemmed from the attempted classi- ornithologyin 1850as a specializationand not yet a fication of the birds of the world. Farbet maintains, discipline. however,that ornithologicaldevelopments were in- This is a thought-provoking book with many en- deedcentered on the issueof classificationand pur- joyablepassages and someinteresting illustrations.It suesthis line of argument in somedetail. "It was this presentsa historian'sview of the development of concernwith classificationand the objectof acom- one of the majoraspects of ornithologyin Europe.It July 1983] Reviews 765 is not a seminal work on the subject,nor was it in- the Registerin an analysisof avian biogeographyin tended as such. Many ornithologistsinculcated with Britain. He follows the descriptive format of Rat- modern methodsand ideasof ornithologywill find cliffe's "A nature conservation review, the selection it fascinatingto read about earlier times and cor•- of biological sites of national importance to nature cerns. Others will miss more detailed information on conservation in Britain" (1977. Cambridge, Cam- the historyof their own area of researchand how bridge Univ. Press,2 vols.). In addition, he has done particularstudies, such as life history or anatomy, an excellentjob of integrating information from the relatedto the whole of ornithologicaldevelopments. Registerwith BTO censusdata and the general lit- In a sadly neglectedfield within the history of sci- erature on bird populations.For instance,in Chapter ence, Farber's book is a much-needed addition to his- 1, on "Intertidal flats and marshes,"he gives a de- tories of ornithology written exclusively by scien- tailed description of British salt-marsh habitats, how tists. In a way, this book contains two monographs breeding and wintering birds use these resources, between its covers.The first one is on the develop- and the consequencesof reclamation schemes,estu- ment of aspectsof ornithology in Europe,while the arine pollution, and habitat loss. In this and each of secondone justifies this type of study.It shouldmo- the succeeding12 chapters(e.g. rocky coastlands, tivate other historians to continue where Farbet left lowland heaths, lakes, woodland), the distribution of off, to developcertain periods, aspects, and the con- natural and seminatural habitats and the relative tributions of individuals in greater detail. In spite of abundancesof the characteristicspecies are dis- its focuson classification,this monographwill inter- cussed. est both scientists and historians, will be useful for Details of the Registerprogram and treatment of students,and will be a stimulating and essentialad- the data are describedin Appendices3-5. Observers dition to both private and university libraries.-- used standardizedforms to record site descriptions MARIANNE GOSZTONYI AINLEY. and the seasonaloccurrences of bird speciesand to make rough estimates of abundances. Each habitat was classified to a subhabitat within a set of seven Bird habitats in Britain.--R. J. Fuller. 1982. Staf- mutually-exclusivehabitat divisions.Fuller acknowl- fordshire,England. T. and A.D. Poyser,Ltd. 320pp., edgesthat communitiesare in factopen systems and 32 black-and-white plates, 79 figures, 55 tables. he is awareof the limitationsof the type of data in $35.00.--In 1972, after the completion of the field- the Register for making comparisons.To overcome work for the Atlas Survey (Shatrock,J. T. R. 1976. partially the problem that sampling effort differed "Atlasof breedingbirds in Britainand Ireland," Poy- among habitats,he often expressesdata in terms of set, Berkhamsted),the British Trust for Ornithology frequencies,the percentageof sites in a habitat on recognizedthat the field experiencebuilt up during which a specieswas recorded. This is actuallya mea- the Surveycould be redirectedinto a study of sites sure of how widespread speciesare relative to one of ornithologicalinterest. The Atlas was an excellent another.The frequenciesplotted in decreasingorder example of the great potential rewards of well-or- (Fig. 14.1) show that each habitat has a characteristic ganized, broad-scaleprojects that are basedon infor- pattern. This figure is a very interestingdemonstra- mation contributed by amateur ornithologists,and a tion of a biogeographicpattern that is actuallyabove large cadre of local and regional participantsfor the the level of communityorganization because it de- new projectwas in place. The objectiveof the new scribesa pattern of the member speciesfor many project would not be to produce a guide for bird- sites of the same habitat. watchers,but rather to gather information aboutsites Only crude comparisonscan be made for the rel- that would be useful in conservationplanning and ative species richness of the habitats (Table 53), be- reserve acquisition. A similar project (Smout, T. C. causespecies/area effects are unknown and the sites 1972. Brit. Birds 65: 263) had just been completed in differ greatly in size. But the Registerinformation is Denmark. R. J. Fuller was appointed as national or- supplementedwith data from transectand mapping ganizerat BTO headquarters.After 4 yr of fieldwork, censuses.My only disappointmentswere the absence the result was a compilationof information about the of any quantitative vegetation analysis and yet seasonaldistribution of birds at approximately4,000 another example of bird speciesdiversity/foliage sites in England, Scotland, and Wales. Because"The height diversity expressedas the information theo- register of ornithological sites" included the descrip- retic measureH'. Personally,I think the rarefaction tionsof many placesthat are on private land and that method (James,F. C., and S. Rathbun. 1981. Auk 98: supportmany speciesthat are sensitiveto human dis- 785) is the best method currently availablefor com- turbance,it was not published.Instead, it is being paring the structure of communities and that nu- used by the Nature ConservancyCouncil and the merousmethods are available for expressingvege- Royal Societyfor the Protectionof Birds to set prior- tation structure that are better than foliage-height ities in making decisionsabout management and land diversity (James,F. C., and N. O. Wamer. 1982. Ecol- use. ogy 63: 159). Nevertheless,Fuller shows that even In this volume Fuller has summarized data from presenceand absencedata for many sitescan be used 766 Reviews [Auk, Vol. 100 to show very interesting patterns of bird distribu- being subjectedto more intense inbreeding. Field tion. Also, although it seems reasonablealways to studiesdemonstrating inbreeding depressionare very conservethe largest tract possible(p. 68), there are few, and depressionis detectableonly in the caseof situationsin which more specieswould be protected extreme inbreeding. In contrast,evidence suggesting by conservingtwo smallersites that togetherhad an the importance of outbreeding depressionhas been equivalentarea (Simberloff, D., and L. G. Abele. 1982. generally ignored. Therefore, Shieldsargues that the Amer. Natur. 120: 41). creative role of moderately intense inbreeding de- In summary,this book doesa lot more than iden- serves much more attention in future studies, both tify priorities for nature conservation.It contains a theoreticaland empirical, on the evolution of popu- multitude of interesting details about the habitat re- lation structure. lations of British birds, and it brings together the This basicargument is articulatedin the first chap- immense data baseof the Registerwith other avail- ter of the book. The remaining chapters review evi- able information from the literature. The product is dencethat offerssupport for the basicthesis. Specif- a solid ecologicalanalysis that is richly illustrated, ically, they deal with the relative nature of the not only with plates,but with Donald Watsoh'smany conceptsof inbreeding and outbreeding, the poten- figures,drawings, and watercolors.The tablessum- tial disadvantagesof inbreeding, the advantagesof marize the data, and the bibliography is a good sam- inbreeding (coadaptation and the avoidance of out- ple of Britishavian ecology. Clearly, the moors,bogs, breeding depression),inbreeding and sex,especially and mountains of the northwestern section need more the costof meiosis,the population structureand evo- attention, but I know of no publication in the Amer- lution of low-fecundity species,and predictionsand ican literature that has attempted this very interest- testsfrom the basichypothesis. ing analyticapproach to the quantitativeanalysis of Mostly the book coversground that hasbeen treat- bird distribution in relation to the distribution of ed extensivelymany times.Readers familiar with the habitats.--FRANCES C. JAMES. literature on philopatry, sex, inbreeding, and epis- tasis will find little that is new, and will find several of the chaptersrather tedious. For personsunfamiliar Philopatry,inbreeding, and the evolutionof sex.- with the literature in these fields, however, the book William M. Shields. 1982. Albany, New York, State providesa useful overviewof the statusof knowl- University of New York Press.245 pp. $16.95 (pa- edge and current controversies.The arguments are per).--The main thesisof this bookis that philopatry basicallyqualitative, a substantiallimitation because evolved becauseit promoted inbreeding. Most or- resolution of the key issuesposed by Shields, such ganisms, even highly mobile and migratory ones, as the role of epistasisand the costof meiosis,will showstrong philopatry, moving on averageless than require quantitativeanalysis, a task left entirely to 10 home-rangediameters from the placeof their birth future investigators. to the site of their adult reproductiveactivities. It is Given that the book consistsprimarily of plausi- argued that this extreme philopatry cannot be ex- bility arguments, its real value, besidesposing the plained by current ecologicaltheories that assume basichypothesis, must be judged in terms of the environmental heterogeneity, knowledge asymme- power of the predictionsand testsbrought to bear try, and a costto movementto provide an advantage on the hypothesis.Unfortunately, the book is very to remaining so closeto home.An inevitable conse- disappointingon this score.Shields never spellsout quenceof philopatry is inbreeding,and inbreeding in any detail what unique predictions his theory sex eliminates the severe disadvantagesof selfing would make or what tests would be most critical in (Muller's ratchet)while still providing the main ben- distinguishingthe inbreeding sex hypothesisas the efits of sexual recombination. The major disadvan- causeof philopatry from, say,ecological and kin-se- tagesof sex,the high costof meiosisand the break- lection theories. The way is not clearly paved for ing up of good gene combinations(the argumentis further testing. criticallydependent on the importanceof epistasis), Moreover,Shields presents only very weak testsof are both greatly reducedby breedingwith closerel- his hypothesis.His demonstrationof correlationsbe- atives. tween reproductiverate and larval dispersalamong Shieldsargues that the disadvantagesof inbreed- marine invertebratesis unconvincing evidence. What ing have been much overemphasizedbecause most relationship would be expected between reproduc- experimentshave involved outbreedingpopulations tive rate and dispersalif philopatry had not evolved suddenlysubjected to extremeinbreeding (full sib- to promoteinbreeding is not presented.It is clear ling matings).These are preciselythe conditionsthat that the "null" distribution is not one of no associa- would maximizethe potentialdisadvantages of in- tion between egg size and dispersal, becauselarge breeding becausethe period of outbreedingshould eggscannot be carried long distancesin the plank- result in the accumulation of higher levels of disad- ton. There is no inevitable reasonwhy massesof very vantageousrecessives than would havebeen the case small eggscould not be depositedclose to a parent, had the populationsbeen moderatelyinbred before but this is unlikely on ecologicalgrounds becauseit July 1983] Reviews 767 would subjectlarge numbersof larvae to intense sib- His hypothesisdoes offer a way out of the dilemma ling competition. One does not need to invoke any- posedby the maintenanceof sex in low-fecundity thing about either philopatty or inbreeding to ex- species,organisms that forcedG. C. Williams to con- plain the correlationsShields presents. clude that they had inherited sex from high-fecun- Evidencefrom plantsis similarlyweak. Tablesthat dity ancestorsand had been unable to lose it. It also supposedlydemonstrate support for the theory con- offers the possibility that the costof meiosishas been tain no information either about pollen vagility or overestimated because most calculations have as- seedvagility, the two traits Shields expectsto be in- sumed extreme outbreeding. Quantitative calcula- vetsely related to one another. Moreover, his argu- tions wil! be needed to determine how much the cost ments rest on the dubious assumptionthat wind-pol- of meiosisis really reducedby actualinbreeding pat- linated plants have higher pollen vagility than do terns of philopatric species,and how important epis- animal-pollinated species. Many students of the tasisis relativeto singlegene effects, but Shieldshas problem believe that animals on average move pol- presented a challenge that needs to be pursued. I len longerdistances than the wind, which inevitably hope that the expansionof an excellent paper into a produceshigh concentrationsof pollen close to the mediocre book does not blunt the influence the basic parent plant and cannotselectively target conspecific thesis deserves to have.--GoRDON H. ORIANS. stigmas.Comparisons that might be of someinterest, suchas between desert annuals, where variabilityis primarily in time rather than in space,with forest A.B.A. Checklist (Second ed.).--G. Stuart Keith annuals,where environmentalvariability is in both (Chief Editor). 1982. Privately published,available spaceand time, are not explored. fromthe American Birding Association, P.O. Box 4335, Ornithologistswil! be particularlyinterested in the Austin, Texas. 90 pp., 1 map. Paper. $9.00 ($8.25 to use of avian examplesto supportthe theory. Unfor- A.B.A. members)plus $2.25 handling.--This check- tunately, the treatmentof avian evidenceis no more list includes al! birds believed to have occurred nat- convincingthan that given for other groups.Shields urally in North America north of Mexico and exotics assumesa demic structure of waterfow! populations establishedin the sameregion. It beginswith a pref- that does not accordwith existing evidence. He ar- ace professingfealty to the AOU checklist commit- gues that the fact that so few avian speciesmate on tee, and an introduction reviewing the area covered their wintering grounds is evidence for the impor- and the changessince the first edition.These changes tance of inbreeding. A more plausible argument is include 7 additions by splitting, 10 deletions by that the vast majority of long-distancemigrants are lumping, 5 deletionsby teevaluation of records,and nocturnal,making it virtually impossiblefor pairs to 47 additions of recently recordedspecies. The intro- remain togetherduring migrationeven if they formed duction also includesa list of changesin English on the wintering grounds. Nor does he discuss names,with a genera! discussionof the reasonsfor breedingsystems of specieslike gulls, in which pair- the changes,and a statementof the criteria usedfor ing takes place in "clubs" and the birds move to the inclusion of accidenta!and introduced species. coloniesalready paired. The specieslist is organizedby order and family The fact that the predictionsand testsare generally in the sequenceof the AOU Checklist (fifth ed.), ex- weak does not, of course, mean that the basic hy- ceptthat familiesof Charadriiformesare rearranged. pothesisis false.Its validity will ultimately depend Within families the order of speciesusually follows on further experiments and more critica! predictions the 1957AOU Checklist,but accidentalspecies added and tests. The weakness of the tests, however, does recently are insertedhaphazardly. Each species entry seriouslyreduce the value of the book. Indeed, it can includes bracketsat the left for ticking, the English be arguedthat the forceof the hypothesisis seriously name, the Latin binomial,a single letter designating diluted by burying it in massesof argumentsthat at status (Accidental, Extinct, Introduced, Native, Visi- bestmerely indicate the plausibility of the thesis.My tor) anda line to the right margin,evidently for notes. judgement is that Shields would have served his own Extinctspecies lack the bracketsfor ticking. causebetter by offering a conciseversion of his basic The specieslist is followed by a summaryof rec- thesis in a single paper, saving the book for such ordsfor all speciesconsidered accidenta! and for about time as really critical tests can be devised and per- 40 other rare species,and by 10 blank pagesfor in- formed. sertion of future supplements. The A.B.A. Code of Nonetheless,the basichypothesis deserves to be Ethicsgraces the inside back cover. taken very seriously.There is no questionthat cur- I comparedthe specieslist to that in the 34'h Sup- rent thinking is dominated by the perceptionthat plement to the AOU Checklist (July 1982). The lists inbreeding is to be avoided at all costs,while out- are very similar in content,with the major exception breeding is an unmitigated benefit. Shields makes that the AOU included Hawaiian birds. The A.B.A. some compelling arguments for reconsidering that list is more conservativeabout including speciesrep- positionand for recognizingthe potentia!benefits of resentedby questionablywild individuals (it omits, sex combined with moderate levels of inbreeding. for example,Anser erythropus, Larus belcheri, Fringilla 768 Reviews [Auk, Vol. 100 coelebs)or by questionably established introduced in the book. Animal ecologicalstudies receive rela- populations(omits Psittaculakrameri, Myiopsitta mon- tively little attention and many of the animal com- achus).On the other hand, the A.B.A. is lessfastidious munity studies discussedare inappropriate or poor about including birds representedonly by sight rec- examplesof multivariate analyses. ords, such as Diomedeamelanophris, Pterodroma longi- Thefirst two chaptersgive an overviewof multi- rostris, Chlorostilbonricordii, and Vireo crassirostris. variate analyses,their use, and sampling methods. The A.B.A. Checklist is not a good source of cur- Discussedin these chapters are such topics as mini- rent taxonomic, nor nomenclatural, information. Ac- mum matrix size (usually 10 X 10 or 15 X 15), noisy cordingto the preface,scientific names were changed data, redundancy, outliers, roles and purposesof to conform to the 34th Supplement only where they multivariate analyses,and how to conduct a field- involved changesin speciesstatus (and someof those orientedresearch project. The author alsointroduces were missed--e.g. Melanitta deglandishould be M. the three major approachesthat he believes multi- fusca,Myiarchus stolidus should be M. sagrae).Many variate analysescan be usedfor in communitystud- genera submergedby the AOU are retained in this ies:direct gradient analysis,ordination, and classifi- list (e.g. Halocyptena,Hydranassa, Hesperiphona) and cation. Each of these is discussed in one of the next the few newly recognizedby the AOU (Tachybaptus) three chapters. are not included. The reassignmentof the Five-striped The chapter on direct gradient analysis is the Sparrowto Amphispizawas not followed; it remains weakest.To Gauch, "direct gradient analysisis used in Aimophila.Curiously, the A.B.A. placesthe Smew to display the distribution of organismsalong gra- in Mergus,a recenttrend in Europeanworks not fol- dientsof important environmentalfactors," and the lowed by the AOU. emphasisof the chapter is on data displays.It is a On a more positivenote, the checklistis attractive- curiouscollection of examples,however, sinceGauch ly producedand featureslarge easilyreadable print. has defined any study that simultaneouslyexamines It also seemscarefully proofread; I found no typos more than one variable for more than a few individ- in a careful searchof the specieslist. uals as multivariate. Most of the illustrations used are This checklistadequately fulfills its major task--to from well-known studies but are shown out of con- serveas a repositoryfor the lifelists of A.B.A. mem- text with little explanation. Most will be confusing bers-but in my opinion it will not be very useful to to thoseunfamiliar with the original papers.The one others.--WAYNE HOFFMAN. vertebratestudy depicted shows the vertical distri- bution of first sightingsof foraging tree squirrelsin Africa. Although nine speciesof tree squirrelswere Multivariate analysis in community ecology.- studied,this exampleis clearly not multivariate, even Hugh G. Gauch, Jr. 1982. Cambridge, Cambridge by Gauch'sown definition.No multivariateanalysis University Press. x + 298 pp. Paper, $14.95; Hbk, techniquesfor direct gradient analysisare explicitly $37.50.--During the last decade the use of multi- discussed,although in the following chapters44 and variate statisticalmethods in ecological researchhas 22 pagesare devotedto ordinationand classification increaseddramatically. This has been primarily due techniques,respectively. For example,no mention is to the desire of ecologiststo examinesimultaneously made of ways in which multivariate statisticaltech- the abundance and distribution of more than a few niques can be used with environmentaldata to de- speciesin spaceor time and, in many cases,relate rive important gradients.The distributionof associ- this variation to environmental gradients. My ated organisms can then be examined along these impressionis that multivariate statisticalprocedures gradientsfrom the environmentaldata. This type of remain rather arcane to many ecologists,so that a direct gradient analysis approach is now used fre- critical review of the use of multivariate analysesin quently in animal ecologicalstudies. communityecology would be useful.This book is an The two chapterson ordination and classification attempt at sucha review, by an author who has pub- deal only with speciesabundances, and since little lished many paperson the useof multivariatestatis- animal research is conducted in this manner, all il- tics over the last 10 yr and who has been intimately lustrationsin these two chaptersare from botanical involved with developing the Cornell EcologyPro- studies. The exclusion of environmental data from grams Series, a multivariate statistical computer ordination and classificationstudies will seemstrange package.The book emphasizes"the preferred tech- to animal ecologistssince these two terms have a niques," stressingapplications rather than methods. much broader meaning in animal studies. Special attention is given to terrestrial plant com- The final two chaptersare concernedwith appli- munity studies,reflecting the author's background. cationsand conclusions.The applicationschapter is Unfortunately, there are few critical discussionsof largelydevoted to listinguncritically ways in which many statisticaltechniques, and many of the tech- multivariate analyseshave been performed (e.g. one niques discussed(e.g. reciprocalaveraging, detrend- page lists all the crop plant studiesthat have used ed correspondenceanalysis) are from the Cornell multivariate analyses). Due to the broadnessof EcologyPrograms Series. There is hardly an equation Gauch'sdefinition of multivariate analyses,reworked July 1983] Reviews 769 data from the classic study of old-field succes- Shelford was particularly bothered by the reliance sional avifaunasby Johnstonand Odum (1956, Ecol- on data collected in conjunctionwith the fur trade, ogy) are presented as an example of multivariate crop production, and insect outbreaksin animal pop- analysts.Surely the author could have presented a ulation ecology and was determined to collect data more convincingillustration to backup his statement on populationsthat were relatively free from human that multivariateanalysis is a powerful tool in avian interference. The sampling regime consistedof bi- habitat management.Only one paragraphdiscusses weekly samplesof ground invertebrates(extracted in species-by-attributematrices, the most common ap- Berlesefunnels) and 48 sweepsamples of both forest proachin animal ecology.Gauch states that this kind herb and shrub layers.Shelford continuedthis proj- of analysisis very important in understandingcom- ect to near his retirement in 1946, when he turned munity organization, and great debatesconcerning the project over to another faculty member at the "niche space" or "resource space" in animal com- University of Illinois, S. CharlesKendeigh, who con- munities and multivariate statistical methods are tinued the project until near his retirement in 1971. going on now in the ecologicalliterature. Why is this Shelford summarizedhis involvement in this project topic only given one paragraphof treatment? in two papers in Ecological Monographs in 1951, The most impressivepart of the book is the bibli- where he championed his paired environmental ography, which I estimate contains over 850 cita- variableconcept, emphasizing ultraviolet light (= ra- tions, of which about a fourth have been published diation) and moisture, and debunked the effect of in the 1980s.This large collectionof citationsis due sunspotson population fluctuations.In the first of primarily to the compilation of long lists of refer- the present monographs under review, Kendeigh encesthat are presentedin the text, mostly without summarizeshis involvement in the project, analyz- criticismor synthesis,so that the book is mainly a ing 38 yr of datafrom TreleaseWoods, plus datafrom collectionof the usesof multivariateanalyses rather nearby Brownfield Woods (23 yr) and Funk Forest than a primer on techniques. (17 yr). I am not sure what audience will find this book Like Shelford, Kendeigh emphasizesdensity-in- mostuseful. I doubt that undergraduateswill find it dependentregulation of invertebratepopulations and of much use. Graduate studentsand neophyte re- analysisfocuses on the role of environmental factors searchers will find it a useful introduction into the in population fluctuations. Unlike Shelford's ap- literature, but it certainly should not take the place proach, however, Kendeigh's analysisis largely sta- of more rigoroustreatments of multivariate statistics. tistical, using multiple regressionwith both step- Animal ecologistswill be disappointed in the han- down (variable elimination) and step-up (variable dling of the animal literature,and possiblyit would addition)models, which sometimesgive quite differ- have been better to title the book "Multivariate anal- ent results. A total of 31 environmental variables (13 ysisin plant community ecology"and forego the at- temperature, ii precipitation, 3 interactions, 2 snow, tempt to incorporateanimal ecology.In this respect, and 2 ultraviolet radiation) and population level the animal ecologistsmay get more mileage out of a copy previous year are the independent variables, plus a of the recent symposiumon multivariate statisticsin yearly index, derived from summingaverage month- wildlife habitat studies (USDA Forest Service Gen- ly estimatesfor each taxon, and maximum monthly eral TechnicalReport RM-87, RockyMountain Forest population each year for each taxon are the depen- and Range ExperimentalStation, Fort Collins, Colo- dent variables.Thirteen major taxa are discussed,as rado).For a discussionof communityecology, I would well as the 48 most common speciesfrom 6 inverte- have much preferredan ecologistexplaining the sta- brate orders representedin the woods, and all sig- tistics rather than have a statisticianattempt to ex- nificant regressionequations are presented in an ap- plain the ecology.--KIMBERLYG. SMITH. pendix. This analysisis not without its problems, particularlyin light of the large amountof data ana- lyzed. For example,in comparingthe three woodlots, Invertebrate populations of the deciduousforest: the more years included in the analysis,the greater Fluctuations and relations to weather.--S. Charles the number of significantvariables that enter into Kendeigh. 1979. Illinois Biological Monographs 50. the regressionequations for a given taxon.Also com- Urbana,Illinois, University of Illinois Press.107 pp., paring the three woodlots,in only 17%of the equa- Paper. $12.50. Bird populations in east central Illi- tions did the same variable appear in the equations nois: Fluctuations,variations, and development over for a given taxon,suggesting that populationsin dif- a half century.--S. CharlesKendeigh. 1982.Illinois ferent woodlots are controlled by different factors. BiologicalMonographs 52. Urbana, Illinois, Univer- In comparingthe two regressionequations for each sity of Illinois Press.136 pp., Paper.$14.50.--In 1933 taxon at each woodlot, only 43% of the significant Victor Shelfordinitiated a long-termresearch project variablesin the regressionequations were found to on invertebrate populations in William Trelease be related to both monthly and yearly population Woods,a relatively undisturbed24-ha woodland ac- estimates.Three of the 48 species(Drosophila, a bee- quired by the University of Illinois in 1917-1918. tle, a snail) had no significant regression models. 770 Reviews [Auk, Vol. 100

Nonetheless, Kendeigh is able to make a few gen- ies together. Kendeigh only attempts this in a very eralizationsconcerning invertebrate populations. general qualitativemanner, with little or no mathe- The most important variable, entering into almost matical treatment. For example, in the avian mono- all equations, is population level the previous year, graph,he suggeststhat somebirds show a population suggestingthat population levels do not fluctuate response4-5 yr after an increasein the invertebrate widely between years. The next most important vari- prey, but cautionsthat the responsedepends on the able is mean minimum temperature the previous De- rate of invertebrate increaseand the bird speciesin- cember to February, which relates to overwinter sur- volved. This could be investigated statistically in a vival. Ultraviolet radiation also has high scores,and more rigorous manner. Other interesting compari- Kendeigh suggests,as did Shelford over 30 yr ago, sons come to mind. The elimination of the American that more attention should be given to this environ- elm had profound effectson the bird populations, mental factor in animal research.Kendeigh also con- yet it is hardly mentioned in the invertebrate mono- cludesthat precipitationis generally more important graph. Didn't the elimination of a majortree species than temperaturebecause the former entersinto more affect invertebrate populations?Happily, all data as- equations,a conclusionthat supportsShelford's pre- sociatedwith both the invertebrate and bird projects vious emphasison moisture. have been placed in the archives of the University In 1934 another long-term research project was of Illinois Main Library and are availableto research- started in TreleaseWoods when A. C. Twomey began ers who wish to examine the data more closely. censusing breeding and wintering birds. In 1940 The avian monographis clearly written and should Kendeigh also took control of this project and data be of interest to all avian ecologists,as it will prob- collectioncontinued through 1977 at TreleaseWoods. ably becomeone of the classicsin avian population Over the years, six other nearby woodlands also were studies. The invertebrate monograph will have a incorporatedinto the study. Generally, 11 censuses much smaller audience, but it may be of particular were done betweenApril and August and 4-6 counts interestto thoseworking on bird communitiesin the were made between December and February each eastern deciduous forest. The scope of the inverte- year. A Christmas Bird Count also was conducted in brate monograph is much narrower and there has Trelease Woods since 1941. Some data were available been almost no attempt to incorporaterecent litera- from the period 1924-1929, so that the bird project ture into the discussionsin this monograph. spans about 50 yr. Kendeigh summarized the data These two monographsrepresent nearly 50 yr of each year for consistency,although data were col- researcheffort, by many individuals, on two research lectedby many studentsassociated with Kendeigh at projectsdirected by two of the mostprominent ani- University of Illinois (all listed in the Acknowledg- mal ecologiststhis centuryin North America.In these ments),many of whom are themselvesprominent or- hard financial times, when most field projects run nithologists today. only a few years, these two projectsstand as a great The bird data are discussedin light of the yearly tribute to the University of Illinois for the support cycle, fluctuationsfrom year to year (both for major of the researchof Shelford and Kendeigh for nearly groups of birds and each common species)intra-re- 40 yr. It would appearthat the baton apparentlydid gional variation, changes in relation to vegetation not get passedon to someyoung turk to continue succession,community structure variation, and dis- the work, but the data base assembled should be a persal of new speciesinto the study area. Much at- gold mine for future investigators.--K•MUERL¾G. tention is given to year-to-year fluctuationsand Ken- SMITH. deigh is able to demonstrate that, over the 50 yr of study, one stochasticenvironmental event had more CRC Handbook of census methods for terrestrial influenceon the avian populationsof TreleaseWoods vertebrates.--David E. Davis, Ed. 1982. Boca Raton, than any other factor. Who would have guessedat Florida, CRC Press.397 pp. $125.00 in U.S., $140.00 the beginning of the study that one of the most outsideU.S.--Obtaining an accurateestimation of the prominent tree speciesin the forest, the American number of individuals within a population of one or elm, would be virtually eliminated in one short de- of several speciesoccupying a specified area is ab- cade?Population levels of nearly every specieswere solutely critical to any sort of rigorousecological in- affected by this dramatic opening of the canopy in vestigation, be it basic or applied. Any attempt to the early 1950s and the reclosing of the canopy in focus attention on censusing methodology is thus the mid- to late 1960s. For example, the House Spar- importantand timely. Davisclearly setsforth the ob- row was unreported in the woods until 1955, when jectivesof this handbookin his preface:the hand- it becamevery common, nesting and roostingin dead book "is the first attempt to record various proce- elms, until 1965, when it virtually disappearedfrom dures for determining the number of vertebrates in the woods again. an area... it aspiresto reach the level of proficiency Given that these two long-term projects were di- of methods for older areas of biology, such as micro- rected by Kendeigh for many years, one might logi- biology." The emphasisis explicitly on the collection cally expecta discussiontying the resultsof the stud- of censusdata, not on the statisticsof their analysis July1983] Reviews 771

(although a concluding chapter by Davis provides a emphasis because elaborate statistical methods are useful, if elementary, review of abundancecalcula- rarely used. "The reasonsare simple, but often for- tion procedures).In his comments in the Foreword, gotten. Studiesof terrestrial vertebratesusually deal Mosby presentsa slightly different focusfor the vol- with small numbers. Also the investigator may cap- ume: "This publication seeksto summarize under one ture or record a high proportion of the population cover the most satisfactoryprocedures developed by and hence use actual numbers rather than estimates. knowledgeable wildlifers working with a large va- Also moststudies use a censusmethod to get data for riety of vertebrates.The judicious application of the some purpose (diversity index, Environmental Im- information here assembledshould aid materially in pact Statement (EIS), birth rate, etc.), and the investi- the wise use of our vertebrate wildlife resources." gator does not want to spend much time on the cen- Grand claims, indeed, and if they were fulfilled, this sus. Lastly, verification of assumptionsmay require volume would be a boon to all practicing field orni- so much effort that the investigatoruses some simple thologists. method (e.g. mice per trap night) that cancelsmost Unfortunately, the handbook falls far short of that assumptionswhen usedcomparatively." To me, these goal. There are two obvious reasons for this. First, sound like rationalizationsfor conductingquantita- the treatment is generally simplistic and presented tively crude and unreliable censuses. in an elementary manner, as is perhaps apparent in This "handbook" thus misses its mark rather bad- Davis' introductory comments(e.g. "... you need to ly, I'm afraid.The serious student or researcherplan- know how to collect data. This handbook will help ning researchon vertebrate populations or commu- you achieve your purpose"). I had the feeling I was nities would be better advised to study the contri- reading a high schoolprimer. Second,the coverage butions contained in Ralph and Scott's "Estimating is extraordinarily spotty and uneven. This is a con- numbers of terrestrial birds" (1981. StudiesAvian Biol. sequenceof the design of the handbook:various au- 6) or to consult treatments such as that of Caughley thors (there are 160 contributors) were asked to pre- (Analysisof vertebratepopulations. 1977. New York, pare a brief article basedupon their use of a particular John Wiley), Tanner (Guide to the study of animal method in a study on which they had recently pub- populations.1978. Knoxville, Univ. TennesseePress), lished. The contributions thus are "certified," in a Miller and Gunn (Symposium on censusand inven- sense, in that the methods they present have mus- tory methods for populations and habitats. 1981. tered at least enough respectabilityto be part of pub- Moscow, Univ. Idaho Forest, Wildl. Range Expt. Sta- lishedpapers, but they are alsothus quite specificin tion Contrib. 217), or even Southwood (Ecological their focus. methods. 1978. New York, John Wiley). One could The main body of the handbook contains short (1- assemblea nice basic reference library on censusing 3 page) accountsof methods that can be used to cen- for less than the cost of this absurdly overpriced sus particular species(5 amphibians and reptiles, 44 "handbook."--JoHN A. WIENS. birds, and 60 mammals; some species are treated in more than one article) or assemblagesof more than one speciesin particular habitat types (32 articles). Collins British birds.--John Gooders (Ed.). 1982. There seemsto be little rationale underlying the in- London, William Collins Sons, Ltd. 384 pp. œ12.95.-- clusion of various species.The species accounts of When the dust-jacket of a book makes the sort of birds consider a diverse array, including flamingos, outrageousclaim that this book does:"This book will EvergladeKites, Herring Gulls, robins, House Spar- tell you, and showyou, all thereis to know[my italics] rows, Song Sparrows, Australian miners, and que- about the birds of Britain and Ireland," it invites crit- leas. The habitat articles deal with birds in, for ex- icism from reviewers. My tendency to discount the ample, shoreline, urban, hemlock forest, riparian, dust-jacketas being publicity material was, however, transmission-line,dune, shrubsteppe,and Galapagos quickly offsetby the chauvinismof the preface,whose Island environments.With relatively few speciesor central theme is that, because British and Irish orni- habitats consideredand the variety so great, it is dif- thologists have become more European and world- ficult to see how one might in fact use the handbook wide in their studies, there has been a dearth of books unless one was working with the same or similar on the birds of the British Isles, a situation that Good- species or habitats. For some of these, at least, the ers is supposedto rectify. I would hardly characterize articles do provide a reasonable overview of the ma- the period 1950-1980 as being short of bird books jor censusing or capture/marking procedures, al- relating to Britain and Ireland: the fine series of though the descriptionsare generally so brief that monographs from T. & A.D. Poyser, such volumes suitabledetail is lacking. as Perrins' "British Tits," and Newton's "Finches" in Although none of the contributions individually Collins' own New Naturalist series, Hutchinson's is particularlyweak, collectivelythe assemblagegives "Ireland's wetlands and their birds," and a host of an impressionof superficiality that I find disturbing. similar books deserve better than the cavalier dis- My concernsare reinforced when I read in the intro- missalof Gooders'preface. Perhaps the arroganceof duction that statisticalaspects are not given much the claims for Gooders'book left me to approach his 772 Reviews [Auk,Vol. 100 text with no small prejudice, but one could hardly and knows his subjectthoroughly, but some of the miss the shortcomings I found. advice he offers suffersfrom a lack of a clear image The first 70 pagesof the book consistof an intro- of the market for which he is writing. Much of the duction and a seriesof essaysby different authorson advice he offers on pages18-19 constitutesgood ad- a variety of topics:Identification (Peter Grant), songs vice for the embryo "twitcher" developing an inter- and calls (Eric Simms), habitats (Ian Presst),nests and est in rarity hunting but, as much of the rest of the nesting (Jim Flegg), food and feeding (Philip Bur- book is more suited to the newly interested bird- ton), range and distribution (Colin Harrison), and watcher who is still coming to terms with common migration and movements(Robert Spencer).Then birds, let alone rarities, I am lessthan happy that this follow some266 pagesproviding individual species advice is appropriate. Similarly, his advice on page accounts,each speciesaccount comprisinga color 19 about the submissionof ornithological notes for portrait,a generaldescriptive paragraph, and short publication in local club reports is suspect.He high- sectionsdealing with voice, habitat, reproduction, lights here the importanceof rarities and the unusu- food,range and distribution,and movements;the left- al, and offersas the reasonfor submitting these rec- hand third of each page is reservedfor abouta col- ords the resulting development of self-censorship umn inch of summarytext about the bird or its pop- about one'sidentification of rarities.This may be good ulations,a map of its distributionin the BritishIsles psychologybut hardly servesthe function of such or, in some cases,in the Palearctic or worldwide, and local reports as documentation of population (typically) small diagramsillustrating flight patterns changes--if one records only rarities, does the ab- or sexual differences. The remaining 40 or so pages senceof recordsat a later date mean a specieswas of the book comprisechapters dealing with rare, in- absent or that it was too common to meet Grant's troduced, and ornamental birds, where to watch birds, criterion of rarity value? the legal situation relating to birds, the addressesof Eric Simms' article on song and call exudes au- various societies,and a short bibliography and index. thority and is thoroughly up-to-date, but it is never- Popularizers are rarely up to date, and Gooders' thelesswell-aimed at the interestedamateur. The only introduction suffersbadly from this effect.The vague slip-up in this respectthat I detectedwas on page 29, generalities prevailing through the introduction in where illustrations of sound spectrographsare pre- relation to island biogeographyand climaticchange sented without an explanation as to how to interpret contrastsadly with the authoritative text provided such diagrams.Presst's article on bird habitats is well by Harrison'sessay on range and distribution. Good- written and reasonablycomprehensive for Britishand ers is at his best when dealing with the human as- Irish habitats, as one might expect of the Director of pectsof ornithology, particularly in relation to rari- the RSPB. For certain habitats (notably freshwater), ties. Such ideas as "Britain and Ireland are uniquely however, I felt that regional variation in these birds situated for the enjoyment of the skill of identifica- and their communities was understated. One was left tion and the activity of seeking the unusual" high- by his text very much with the impressionthat a lake light a significantaspect of birdwatching in Britain. or river, etc., would hold the bird speciesdescribed But such insights deal with the sociology of bird- wherever in the British Isles that lake or river was watchingrather than of ornithology.The same short- located.The analysesby Marchant & Hyde (1980. Bird coming appears,for example,on page 11, in discuss- Study 27: 183) provide strong evidence to the con- ing range changesin British Birds:Gooders describes trary for British waterways, whilst Fuller's "British the retreat of southern speciesand the increasein Bird Habitats" (Poyser, 1982) demonstratesthe same northern-latitude speciesin Britain in responseto a point for other habitats. decline in average summer temperatures,but then Flegg'sessay on nestsand nesting sufferssome cu- finds it perfectly satisfactoryto point out a number rioustextual jumps,presumably due to editing by the of southern speciesthat extend their range north- publisher, as similar jumps appear elsewhere in the wards, without any commentas to why these range book. (Thus, on page 40, a paragraph on territory expansionsoccur. This is, to my mind, the distinction suddenly reverts to a discussionof eggs started two between British birdwatching and British ornithol- pagesearlier. Similarly, in Burton'sessay a paragraph ogy: the one is quite satisfiedto focuson the "whats" on page49 on beneficialspecies suddenly reverts back of birds, the other addressesitself to the "whys" of to a discussionof adaptations for feeding, and on the group. Gooders'text also suffers from inferior page 71 Spencer'sessay comes to an abrupt halt.) grammatical editing, notably in the recurrence of Flegg's essay suffers from excessivecaution in ad- plural nouns governing singular verbs and vice ver- vancing explanations,a caution that must be confus- sa. ing for the novice. Instead of the logic of "there are The essaysat the start of the book are considerably x explanationsof this phenomenon,each appropriate better and generally (though not uniformly) more to different species,"Flegg tends to follow an expla- authoritative than is Gooders' text. The first of these nation with a sentenceof the type "this cannot be essaysaddresses the topicof identification.Peter Grant the explanation because.... "In presenting novice is Chairman of the British Birds Rarities Committee birdwatcherswith explanationsof the value of ter- July 1983] Reviews 773 ritory or of the function of egg color or whatever one -. frequentlybeing difficult to discriminate.Thus, on surely needsto be bold, presentingthe fundamental page 123 the yellow dot used for the discreteGold- idea for the reader to grasp firmly, later modifying eneye colony is virtually invisible; other examplesof the explanation for particular species.Thepractice of this defect are the maps for Gannet on page 88 and setting up possible explanations only to demolish for Marsh Warbler on page 278. The use of green or them as a general explanation must make for con- yellow also getsoverridden by the wintering blue in fused understandingon the part of the tyro. the case of coastal seabirds (e.g. the Cormorant on Philip Burton writes on food and feeding, provid- page 91). I could find no acknowledgementof the ing altogether a delightful essaythat should stimu- sourceof the breeding distribution maps but formed late any bird student, novice or professional.Were the impressionthat they were derived from those in Burton writing as a university teacherhe would have Sharrock's(1976) "Atlas of breeding birds in Britain no difficulty in persuading studentsto come into his and Ireland." researcharea. His treatment of morphological adap- A detailed critique of the text in the individual tations in feeding apparatusbrings the subjectalive speciesaccounts would be too consumingof time and to a degree that few writers in this area achieve. spaceto be warranted here. Whilst the text is broadly The remaining two introductory essaysare both correct it is riddied with minor errors, inconsisten- authoritative accountsof their respectivesubjects, on cies, and anomalies. These occur at several levels. range and distribution (Harrison) and on migration Some are as minor as the description of the food of and movements(Spencer). The latter essaycontains the Swift as "insects of various species" instead of someunfortunate phrases in the marginal notes(pre- the more strictly correct "invertebrates of various sumably supplied by the editor): thus, the note species." For Stock Dove the predominant food is "Ringed Swifts are invariably found dead" on page stated to be grain, without mention of the impor- 66 set me wondering how long would it be before tance of weed seeds.The Stonechat is stated to pro- the ringing of Swifts was stoppedin the interestsof duce a third brood occasionallywhilst the available conservation.The essayalso suffersfrom the type of specialist studies of this species indicate the third bad editing alreadycommented upon, particularlyin brood is fairly regular. For the Stock Dove again the relation to the placement of subheadings.Thus, on text states "A recent decline in numbers has been page 66 the title Nomadsis placed a paragraph too attributed to agricultural pesticides"but there is no low and again, on page 71, the title Four millionbirds referenceto the well-documentedrecovery that has is placed a paragraph too low. The text itself, how- taken place since 1961-1962. Again, the population ever, provides a straightforward and up-to-date ac- crashexperienced by Whitethroats in 1968 goesun- count of our understanding of bird movements, mentioned under that species.Similarly, much of the catchingsomething of the excitementof the study of information on population numbers has been taken migration that gives the subjectits appeal to ama- unthinkingly from the "Atlas of breeding birds." teurs and professionalsalike. Thus, for the Stock Doves just mentioned, the Atlas The species accounts form the core of the book. figure of over 100,000pairs is quoted,even though About one-third of each page is occupiedby a Ter- the British Trust for Ornithology's Common Birds ence Lambert portrait of the speciesconcerned. These CensusScheme indicates that numbersare probably are excellent as portraits but again highlight the re- four or five times this level now. Similarly, the win- curring defect of the book, a fluctuatingconcept of tering population estimatesprovided by Goodersdo its market. The accompanyingtext is so simplified not always agree with the best available recent in- that the book can serve only as an introductory vol- formation. Where Gooderssays that severalhundred ume for people beginning birdwatching. For such Great Northern Divers may winter, Prater's (1979) people the portraits are lessthan helpful. The Peter- "Estuarybirds in Britain and Ireland" puts that num- son field guide technique of pointers highlighting ber at 2,000-2,500, and Gooders' similar estimate for the relevant features for field identification is far more Red-neckedGrebe should be replacedby Prater'ses- helpful, even if the bird concerned is drawn sche- timate of 80 or so (with occasional cold weather in- matically.The detailed portraitshere do not always fluxes). For the Turnstone, Gooders estimates 10,000- convey the jizz of the speciesand some of the draw- 12,000 where Prater estimates 25,000. Other errors ings, particularly those of terns, have the bird por- are scattered throughout Gooders' accounts of wild- trayed in a posturein which it looks positively ill at fowl and wader numbers, with Gooders in general ease. being out of date. Note, incidentally, the misprint Eachmain speciesaccount is accompaniedby a map discrepancy for Shoveler breeding numbers, with showing the British and Irish distribution of the Goodersciting 10,000 pairs where Sharrock quotes commoner resident species.The maps show both 1,000 pairs. winter and breeding distributions for the commoner The illustrationsin the sectionon rare birds are by speciesbut the choice of colors(yellow for summer far the poorest drawings in the book, occasionally distribution, blue for winter distribution, green for touching something of the reality but with most the distribution of residentspecies) is far from ideal, looking disproportionately plump, large-billed, or 774 Reviews [Auk, Vol. 100 wrong-legged. Each illustration is accompanied by ican ornithologists) will find little need for it.- one or two column inches of text highlighting the RAYMOND J. O'CONNOR. main featuresof the species. Several pagesat the end of the book are devoted to where to watch birds, a topic now invariably as- South American landbirds, A photographicaid to sociated with Gooders. These accounts are broken identification.--John S. Dunning. 1982. 364 pp., down under various subheadings,including Nation- 1,200+ color photographs. Newtown Square, Penn- al Nature Reservesof bird interest,Royal Societyfor sylvania, Harrowood Books. $37.50; Soft cover the Protection of Birds Reserves, Bird Observatories, $32.50.--For nearly 20 yr John Dunning has trav- major haunts of rarities, major seabirdcolonies, major elled widely in Central and South America, driven estuaries, and reservoirs. This arrangement is some- by a passion for bird photography. From the rain- what messy, since each section must be consulted drenched Choc6 region of northwest Colombia to the before an adequate idea of the best places in any remote interior of Mato Grossoand beyond, Dun- particular region of the country can be identified. ning persisted in his attempts to mist-net and pho- The notes provided are generally cryptic, although tograph his subjectsin a specially designed enclo- those on the Observatoriesare notably more infor- sure. In doing so he and his wife Harriet withstood mative. innumerablediscomforts and logisticalproblems. The The rest of the book is devoted to a small number first hint of Dunning's dedication and ability was of appendices.The first deals with birds and the law revealedby "Portraitsof tropical birds" (1970), a col- and is largely confined to the situation for England lection of 72 stunning, full-color photographs of and Wales, with a few notes on exceptionsfor Scot- Neotropical birds. "South American landbirds" far land. Although the rest of the book dealswith Britain exceedsthe scopeof that work, but quality is still a and Ireland, no information is provided as to the trademark of Dunning's craft. legal situations in Northern Ireland and in the Re- This amazing book contains color photographs of public, both of which differ from that of Britain. The more than 1,100 species of South American land- last two pages of the book cover society addresses birds, as well as brief descriptions and range maps and a bibliography. The latter contains some curious for theseand nearly 1,400additional species.The tit- omissions, there being no mention, for example, of illating array of photosincludes a tremendousnum- Ian Newton's "Population ecology of raptors," of ber of little-known species,many not previously il- Derek Ratcliffe's"The Peregrine" of Roger Durman's lustrated in a book of any kind. I was amazed to see "Bird observatories in Britain and Ireland," nor of suchrare and/or difficult-to-capturespecies as Gould's Sharrock's "Rare birds in Britain and Ireland." A short Jewelfront (Polyplancta aurescens),Straight-billed index is also provided. Reedhaunter (Limnoctites rectirostris), Barred Ant- I see little in this book to recommend it to the thrush (Chamaeza mollissima),Rufous-crowned Ant- serious birdwatcher, let alone to the ornithologist. pitta (Pittasomarufopileatum), Rufous-rumped Ant- Despite the extravagantclaims made on its dust-jack- wren (Terenura callinota), Helmeted Manakin et, it is restricted in scope and out of date in some (Antilophiagaleata), Pin-tailed Manakin (Ilicura mill information. I believe it has a market, in that band taris), Sharpbill (Oxyruncuscristatus), Rufous-brown of British and Irish birdwatchers who have pro- Solitaire (Myadestesleucogenys), and Yellow-crowned gressedbeyond the "Birds of my garden" stageand Chlorophonia(Chlorophonia fiavirostris), to name a few. who are interested in acquiring basic information Thirty-nine photographswere contributedby Robert about their local birds, without getting involved in Ridgely, who is given as a collaborator on the title the complicationsof a fully scientific treatment. For page; these were mainly of raptors and parrots, all such readers the introductory essaysare particularly taken in the wild with telephoto lenses. Notable valuable in providing ornithological backgroundsto among this selectionare Red-billed Curassow(Crax the more condensedspecies accounts. For this same blumenbachii),Spot-winged Falconer (Spiziapteryxcir- group of readers, too, the Lambert paintings must cumcinctus),and Red-fronted Macaw (Ara rubrogenys). surely be attractive, providing the novice with a The vast majority of the photographsreflect Dun- glimpse of the details he will not seein the field until ning's skill as a photographer:they range in quality his experience mounts. It is also an attractively pro- from good to excellent. Particularly good are those ducedbook, with its wealth of color and layout mak- of hummingbirds,male manakins,antpittas, and most ing one want to read it through. It is not, however, tanagers.I assumethat someof the poorer photosin a field guide, and it is not a compendium of ornitho- this guide (e.g. the Andean Solitaire [Myadestesral- logical knowledge. In short, despite the pretensions loides]that is as blue as a Mountain Bluebird [Sialia of its claims, it is a book only for the developing currucoides])resulted from the reproduction process. birdwatcher going through his basic training, to be A reflection of this problem is that subtletiesin color set asideafter two or three yearsof practicalexperi- differencesamong female manakins(pp. 100-104) and ence. Established ornithologists (and more so Amer- Elaenias(pp. ii0-111) are not well shown. I person- July1983] Reviews 775 ally do not like the vivid blue backgroundsin many coast (e.g. White-throated Tinamou [Tinamusgutta- of the photos, especiallythose of undergrowth- tus], Gray-fronted Dove [Leptotilarufaxilla]). Gross dwelling antbirds,flycatchers, and thrushes,etc., and errors,like those of the misdrawn maps of Crested preferthe naturalbackdrops of foliageand branches. Bobwhite (Colinus cristatus), Tawny-faced Quail The photographsare a bit small,averaging about 4 X (Rhynchortyxcinctus), Yellow-fronted Woodpecker 4 cm, but their size contributed greatly to the overall (Melanerpesfiavifrons), and Hazel-frontedPygmy-Ty- compactnessof the book,which can easilybe carried rant (Pseudotriccussimplex), are quite rare. Avian in the field. The only serious technical problem in zoogeographersmight find it tempting to use these this book resultsfrom th'eabrupt cutting of the right- potentiallyvaluable maps in their surveys;those who hand marginson someof the pages;this causedthe do should be aware of their shortcomings. lopping off of portionsof bills or tails. "South American landbirds"will prove very use- The text seemsto be quite free of typographical ful to ornithologistsand advancedamateurs visiting errors. The speciesdescriptions are succinctand an any part of the continent. The author states(p. xi) effort was made to provide key plumage characters that "this book is not for the scientist.It is designed wherepossible. The descriptionsof speciesnot illus- to help the beginningbird-watcher identify the land trated often refer to others that are; this enhances the birds of South America." As one who has been with usefulnessof this book as a field guide. I found sev- many groups of inexperienced neotropical bird- eral apparentmisidentifications in the photographs. watchers,I questionwhether this or any photograph- The female Black-bellied Antwren (Formicivora mel- ic guide couldever serveas a primary field guide for anogaster),86-1, looks like a female White-fringed beginnersin South America.In a review of the Au- Antwren (F. grisea)of the nominaterace; the female dubonSociety's photographic guides to North Amer- Ornate Antwren (Myrmotherulaornata), 90-12, also ican birds, Tudor (1978. Auk 95: 201) lucidly dis- appearsto be a femaleWhite-fringed Antwren. The cussedthe problemsassociated with suchbooks. Due Dusky-tailed Flatbill (Ramphotrigonfuscicauda), 112-4, to the vagaries of light exposure and the variable is obviously a female Barred Becard (Pachyramphus behavior of the bird subjectsthemselves, it is vir- versicolor).The femalePurple-throated Euphonia (Eu- tually impossible to show the characteristicfield phoniachlorotica), 174-10, is misidentified, but I am marks--colors,patterns, postures, etc.--of a dozenor not certain of its correctidentity (possiblya female more similar specieson a page of photographs.This Finsch's Euphonia [Euphoniafinschi], but it has the is, however, routinely done by artists in the Peter- rufous forecrown of an Orange-bellied Euphonia [E. son-stylefield guides.The purposesof a field guide xanthogaster],not known from Surinam where the are best met through the grouping of speciesaccord- photo was taken). Photos5 and 6 on page 110 were ing to similaritiesin morphologyand/or geographic possiblyreversed; in my copy the bird in 6 appears distribution, although I realize this is difficult in a to have some rufous on the rear-crown, a character- book that covers all of South America. (Note that on istic of the Rufous-crownedElaenia (Elaeniaruficeps). p. 58 of Dunning's guide only 5 of 12 woodcreepers The bird in photo 3 on p. 130 looksmore like a Ru- occur together in the same locality and habitat, and fousSpinetail (Synallaxis unirufa) than a RufousWren they differ radically in size, shapeand color pattern.) (Cinnycerthiaunirufa). Furthermore, although this book illustrates males My only othersubstantive complaint with thisbook and/or females of an amazing 1,100+ species,this stemsfrom the varying detail and accuracyportrayed total representsonly about 45%of the landbird fauna by the range maps. The majority are well done, es- of the continent.Anyone attemptingto use this guide pecially thosein the latter half of the book (pp. 193- in species-richAmazonia will find that photos of a 324). Most problems arise in the western one-third great many speciesare lacking. In some localities in of the continent, where the Andes seem to be mis- easternEcuador and Peru, for example,as many as placedlongitudinally in many of the maps.Though 10 speciesof sexually dimorphic Myrmotherulaant- very accuratedetail canbe given on thesesmall maps wrens occurtogether in rainforestundergrowth and (e.g. Barred Fruiteater [Pipreolaarcuata], p. 92) in many middlestory. "South American landbirds" illustrates casesit is not. No fewer than 27 Andean species(e.g. only one of these,the White-flankedAntwren (Myr- Puna Hawk [Buteopoecilochrous], Andean Pygmy-Owl motherulaaxillaris). A relatively high number of the [Glaucidiumjardinii], Sword-billed Hummingbird [En- difficult-to-identify furnariids, antbirds, and fly- siferaensifera]) are shown to occurin the Amazonian catchersare also lacking. This deficiency,together lowlands of westernBrazil! The mapsfor at least 11 with a generallack of specificinformation on behav- speciesnot known from Bolivia (e.g. Blue-headed ioral characteristics(especially voice), habitat pref- Macaw [Ara couloni],Yellow-billed Jacamar [Galbula erence, and elevational distribution (for montane albirostris],Castelnau's Antshrike [Thamnophih•scryp- species)would render it difficult to use this book as toleucus])erroneously include a portion of that coun- a primaryfield guide,particularly in the regionscov- try. Numerousspecies restricted to the lowlandseast ered by more comprehensivereferences such as "A of the Andes are shown to range west to the Pacific guide to the birds of Venezuela" by Meyer de 776 Reviews [Auk,Vol. 100

Schauenseeand Phelps. The Dunning guide, how- its population status and distribution, and its food ever, will prove very useful as a supplemental ref- and critical habitat. The information is much more erencein such regions,and even more useful in those detailed in the mammal accounts,written by Bal- areaslacking even mediocrefield guide coverage(e.g. comb,than in the bird accounts,written by Angell. central and easternBrazil and Paraguay). The source of the information is easier to trace in the In conclusion,I feel that everyonewith an interest mammal section. Each account is accompaniedby a in Neotropical birds should own this surprisingly range map, but it is not clear when the dots used in inexpensive,well-done book. It will prove useful, in the mapsindicate the siteswhere the specieshas ac- someway, to amateursand professionalsalike. I look tually been sighted in the Puget Sound region or forward to seeingmore of Dunning's superbphotog- when they indicatesites of suitablehabitat where the raphy in the near future. The author has admirably speciesshould be found. I think that at times one requestedthat 10% of the publisher's salesreceipts alternative is possibly true and at other times the be donated to the World Wildlife Fund--U.S. "to be secondalternative is possibly true. Except for some used for the purchaseand protection of bird habitat marine mammal species,the range maps cover only in South America." I sincerely hope that this impor- waters lying on the United Statesside of the U.S./ tant contributionto Neotropicalornithology will find Canadian border. its way into the hands of conscientiouscitizens The appendixis composedof six tablesand six maps throughout Latin America. The future of the richest that synthesizeinformation on the habitat distribu- bird fauna on earth lies with them.--THEODORE A. tion and species'use of habitats in the region. This PARKER,III. materialand the way it is presentedgoes beyond the overall introductory thrust of the book. Personsse- riously interestedin maintaining wildlife habitat in Marine birds and mammals of Puget Sound.--T. the Puget Sound area through regional planning Angell and K. C. Balcomb III. 1982. Seattle and Lon- would find the appendix,and the bibliographythat don, University of WashingtonPress. xiii + 145 PP., follows, of great interest.--DAviD G. AINLEY. numerousblack-and-white drawings. $14.50.--Tony Angell and Ken Balcomb have produced a volume that introducesthe beginning naturalist, or perhaps Avian incubation: Egg temperature, nest humid- the nonbiologist regional planner, to the birds and ity, and behavioral thermoregulation in a hot en- mammals of the Puget Sound and Strait of Juan de vironment.--Gilbert S. Grant. 1982. Ornithological Fuca regions.The book is not a referencework con- MonographsNo. 30, American Ornithologists'Union, taining primary sourcematerial. The authorsdo an 75 pp. $9.00.--Low-latitude deserts are among the admirable job of introducing their readershipto the most difficult terrestrial environments for birds to conceptthat habitatpreferences determine where we reproducein. Since they typically are diurnal and might encounter a species,and of stressingthe all- nonfossorial,birds mustdirectly meet the challenges important lessonthat only through preservationof of this extremeenvironment during periodsin which habitatwill we continueto enjoythe companyof our physicalstresses are greatest.This is particularlytrue wild brethren. The interesting personal, anecdotal during reproductionbecause the adult's behavioral experiencesof the authors,which they use to intro- responsesto thermal stressare limited in association duce the bird and mammal families, should make the with the restriction of individuals to the nest site for book of much greater educationalvalue than many extendedperiods and becausethe embryois thought "nature books" that treat the natural world in an ab- to be particularly vulnerable to heat stress.In spite stract, distant manner. This is a handsome volume, of these difficulties,an impressivevariety of birds in part becauseit has been enriched by Angell's nu- breed during the summerin subtropicaldeserts. Gil- merousblack-and-white drawings; the designof the bert Grant recognizedthe critical nature of this prob- volume is also rather attractive. lem and examined the mechanisms that allow a va- The book,bound in hard paper,begins with intro- riety of shorebirdsto nest during the summernear ductorysections that discuss and class!fy the marine, the Salton Sea in the Sonoran Desert of California. estuarine,and wetland habitatsof the Puget Sound This is an extremely harsh environment--solar ra- region. Next is a discussionof various natural and diation is intense,shading vegetationis essentially unnaturalfactors that modify thesehabitats and the absent, and normally during the summer day air use of them by birds and mammals.These discus- temperatures 1-2 m above ground reach 40-45øC, sionsare written quite specificallyfor Puget Sound while soil surface temperatures exceed 50øC. In his and environs. The main body of the book is com- examinationof birds nestingin this area,Grant sought posed of short accountsof the basic natural history particularly to quantify the nature and degree of of 124 avian and 14 mammalianspecies. Included are thermal stressexperienced by both the egg and the raptors,corvids, and other species,such as Kingfish- adult bird, and then examined the nature and deri- ers, that frequent coastalareas. Each account is com- vation of mechanismsused to cope with such ther- prisedof accurateinformation on a species'body size, mal stresses.He alsoexamined problems of egg water July 1983] Reviews 777 loss in this xeric habitat and evaluated possible reg- species, which does not have immediate access to ulation of nest humidity by the parent bird. Most of surfacewater and which nestsduring periods so hot Grant's observations deal with the physiological that even shaded eggsmay exceed45øC. Grant's data ecologyof incubation in Black-neckedStilts, though suggestthat someof the specieshe studiedalso may he also presentsdata on American Avocets,Killdeer, employ this technique. For example, data for the Snowy Plover, Forster'sTerns, Gull-billed Tern, Black LesserNighthawk indicate that egg temperature may Skimmer, and LesserNighthawks. be held below air temperature without "belly-soak- Grant found that, despitehigh environmentalheat ing" by the adult. How is this accomplished?More loads,average egg temperatureis not remarkablyhigh striking, a temperaturetransmitter was implanted into in these species,ranging from 34.8 to 39.8øCin the one stilt and recordeda body temperature of 36.6øC various species.During the hot afternoons,however, during the hot afternoon; this is substantially lower maximum egg temperaturescommonly reach 42øC. than expected, even for a stilt not exposed to heat These values remain below maximum shade air tem- stress. Grant attributes this low temperature to the perature, a feat that is accomplishedprimarily by transmitter being located in an abdominal air sac, evaporative cooling, which is produced by these which he suggestswas cooled below general core shorebirds applying mass quantities of water to the temperature by respiratory evaporation. Sufficient clutch. This "belly-soaking" by the shorebirds stud- data are not available to evaluate this possibility, and ied (not the nighthawk) probably is derived from a Grant made no other measurementsof body temper- distraction display and typically consistsof a stereo- ature to allow examination of this possible use of typed drenchingof the abdominalfeathers by parent adult hypothermia to cool the eggs. birds as they wade in the Salton Sea. Although an Grant also presentsan extensive data set describ- incubating parent may leave the nest briefly, drench ing hydric relationsof eggsincubated in this extreme its feathers, and then return to the nest, belly-soak- environment, including descriptionsof shell con- ing usually occursat nest-relief so that the returning ductance to water vapor, egg dehydration, nest hu- parent has wet plumage. This happens frequently midity, "nest ventilation," and effectsupon egg des- during hot portions of the day, when attentive bouts iccation and respiration of salt and mud on the eggs. tend to be shortened. For example, at shade air tem- Interestingly, eggs incubated in nests at the Salton peraturesof 40-44øC,a parent stilt spendsan average Sea do not dehydrate remarkably more than do those of only 12 min (males) to 14 min (females) on the of speciesin more mesic environments (i.e. during nest before it is relieved by its mate. The returning the courseof incubation, eggs of these specieslose mate typically has very wet abdominal feathers.Grant an average of 9-18% of their initial mass in water), concludesthat this wetting functionsprimarily to cool nor do nest humidities appear to differ remarkably the adult, eggs, and chicks. His extensive observa- from those of birds in other habitats. tions at the nests of stilts and Killdeers, however, Parental wetting of eggswith water from the Sal- demonstrated that the chicks do not drink from the ton Seaoften coatsthe eggswith salt and mud. This wet feathers,as do young sandgrouse. did not appear to reduce embryonic oxygen con- A second important mechanism involved in egg sumption,but the presenceof mud can depresswater- thermoregulation is constant (in the nighthawk) or vapor conductanceof eggsan averageof 10%in Black- nearly constant (up to 90% in stilts) attentivenessby necked Stilts and 16% in American Avocets. A layer the parents during daylight hours. This producesex- of salt had no significanteffect. treme heat loads on the parents, which respond by Using data for the Killdeer and the Snowy Plover, extensive panting, gular flutter (in the nighthawk), Grant also examines the hypothesis, put forth by and dorsal pteryloerection. Dehydration in female Hermann Rahn and his coworkers, that parent birds Lesser Nighthawks must be extreme, because they regulate nest humidity. This might seemparticularly incubate continuously throughout daylight hours likely to occur in species that regularly bring water without relief and without drinking. to the nest. By analysis of parental behavior, nest Grant's data also hint that he may have missed a humidity, and ambient humidity, however, Grant third method of egg-temperatureregulation possibly concludesthat variation in parental attentivenessand employedby someof thesespecies. This is facultative belly-soaking do not function to regulate nest hu- hypothermia by the adult, which would allow it to midity. use its body as a heat-sink to cool the eggs below In addition to belly-soakingand foot-wetting, Grant environmental temperature. A colleague and I re- describes a suite of thermoregulatory mechanisms cently demonstrated that desert-nesting Mourning usedby the attending parent. Theseinclude postural Doves exposedto air temperatures of 44-46øC main- orientation with regard to sun and wind, almostcon- tain core body temperature near 38øC,or about 5-6øC tinuous panting during daylight hours, and the con- lower than expected for doves exposed to such en- spicuouserection of dorsal plumage that often is ob- vironmental temperatures. Contact with the adult's served in heat-stressed birds. relatively cool body maintains egg temperature at or Grant'sapproach to theseproblems generally is up- below 40øC.This is an important mechanism for this to-date, and he clearly appreciates recent develop- 778 Reviews [Auk, Vol. i00 meritsin physiologicalecology. Much of his work is two nestsof each species).Had researcheffort been devoted to topicsof substantialcurrent interest,such concentrated upon one or two species,such as the as regulation of egg dehydrationduring natural in- Black-neckedStilt, Grant might have had time to col- cubation. In addition, the monograph is well-written lect a uniformly solid data set and include somecrit- and edited; the text, figures, and tables generally are ical data, such as hatching successin nature, that are clear, concise,and contain few typographicerrors. I missing. do have two criticisms, however. First, the tech- These flaws, however, are not overwhelming. In- niquesused are only adequatein most placesand are deed, Grant is to be congratulatedfor focusingatten- questionablein some.For example,most of the tem- tion on an important set of problemsin the biology perature data were collectedusing a YSI thermistor of desertbirds. In spite of having to work in one of thermometer. Grant's model goesoffscale above 50øC, the most inhospitable environments in the world, so some data simply were lost. Grant does not state Grant has collectedan important set of observations the size of thermistorprobe inserted into eggs,but that will be valuable to those interested either in avi- probesof the diameter(about 4 ram) commonlysup- an incubationor the physiologicalecology of desert plied with the YSI instrument are sufficiently large birds.--GLENN E. WALSBERG. that axial conduction of heat can significantly alter egg temperatures. Without additional technical de- tails, Grant's egg temperaturesthus are suspect. Evolution without Evidence. Charles Darwin and A second example of problems in methodology The Origin of Species.--BarryG. Gale. 1982. Albu- arisesfrom Grant's measurementsof nest humidity querque, University of New Mexico Press,x + 238 using egg hygrometers.These devicesconsisted of pp. $21.95.--Annually the volume of Darwinianain- stilt or avocet egg shells filled with silica gel. The creases,and it has now reached truly monumental hygrometeris placedin a nestand its uptake of water proportions.It is not inappropriate,however, that vapor determinedby weighing the eggsafter 24 h. another bibliographic and analytical text should be With suchsmall eggs,mass change must be measured publishedin the centennialyear of Darwin's death. to +1 rag. Rather than weighing them in the field, Each of Darwin's researchersappears to have read Grant sealed his hygrometers in plastic bags and (almost?)everything that was written by Darwin and transportedthem to UCLA for measurement.Unfor- aboutDarwin. Many (Irving Stone,for example)have tunately, typical plastic bagsare partially permeable had as their goal the understandingand appreciation to water vapor and at least some water vapor must of the man CharlesRobert Darwin. This last certainly have been enclosedin the bags with the hygrome- appearsto be impossible,as eachauthor colors Dar- ters.Grant apparentlywas aware of this problemand win in his (or her) own specialhues. What Gale pro- statesthat the mean massof egg hygrometerstreated posesto add to the compositepicture of Darwin is in this mannerdiffered by only 2% from that of con- summedup on pp. 151-152,where he notesthat Dar- trols. My experiencewith eggsthe size of a stilt's (21 win's managerialcapabilities were "crucial" to the g fresh weight) indicates that the egg hygrometer developmentof his work. Actually, of course,this will weigh at least 10 g. A 2% masschange is thus small book (160 pagesof text) has many interesting 200 rag. Using Grant's values for nest humidity and commentson Darwin and in reality is about many shell conductanceto water vapor, the daily massgain other aspectsof the Darwin, Darwinism, problem. of the hygrometersmay be crudely estimatedto be Starting at the beginning, the title of this book is about 115 rag, or only about 1% of the egg hygrom- misleadingand tendsto producean adversarialmind- eter's mass.This suggeststhat Grant's method may set in the reader. Gale is justified in giving much have producedsubstantial errors in his values for attention to the method(s) of Darwin and indirectly nest humidity. These two examples of technical to the question"Was the Origin actuallyscience?" It problemssuffice for illustration,but the critical spe- is clearthat in the minds of Lyell, Hooker, and Hux- cialist undoubtedly will find additional difficulties. ley what Darwin was doing was science•at least in A secondproblem arisesfrom the tacticalerror that the terms of the time. And Darwin often in the Origin Grant probably committedby spreadinghis research comments that if this or that were so then his whole efforts among too many speciesand too many sub- argumentwould be in vain; in short,falsified in the projects.He studied eight speciesand quantified an Popperian sense. Of course, one can point to the impressivevariety of variables (climatic data, egg commentsof many antidarwinists,St. GeorgeMivart temperature,egg reflectance,embryonic oxygen con- or Louis TrenchardMore as examples,who would sumption,egg water loss,nest humidity, shell water- deny the legitimacy of Darwinism. vapor conductance,and parental behavior, to name The title goes a bit further than just method. It but a fraction). An unfortunate result is that many statesa lack of supportingfacts, yet on p. 137 the values are basedupon very small sample sizes(e.g. author notes that "Darwin is able to put together a body temperature measuredin only one stilt; rela- coherent,cohesive, and forceful argument on a sub- tions between air temperature and egg temperature ject of vast magnitudeand difficulty supportedby a in Killdeer and nighthawk basedupon data from only relativelynarrow base of solid, incontrovertibleevi- July1983] Reviews 779 dence." What Darwin intended to do was produce a surgenceof creationismand the unsettleddebates of theory that had the greatestexplanatory power, and the evolutionists. he did that. The quotation also remarks on "reaping a har- If one forgivesthe weaknessof the title and the vest." Gale points out the practical nature of Darwin clumsinessof the argumentthat Darwin's theory[of and his ambition and need for recognitionby his natural selection]was the leastobjectionable (p. 140) peers.In this Darwin was no different from scientists available theory, one can enjoy other parts of this then or now. Darwin's managerialskills appear again intellectual buffet. Another sore point with me was in terms of Darwin's daily program of activity and the assumptionthat Darwin was not adequatelyed- his schedule of publications. (Gale does not make ucated or capableof functioning as a "naturalist" on much of the volume and scopeof Darwin's publi- the "Beagle." As one who has collected,I can say cations, of his skill as an experimenter,of his clarity that Darwin was as well prepared as any other 22- of vision as to what needsto be done to investigate yr-old for a 5-yr voyage around the world. This is a point, and of his wisdom as a naturalist. All these particularlytrue in termsof the educationthen avail- are impressive to me, and all were done by a man able that would prepare him for sucha voyage. Am- who is always describedas sick much of the time.) ateurism was in, and Darwin was not much different Gale doesgo into a more subjectiveside of Darwin from others in the sciences. The fact remains that he (pp. 154-163), the argument as to whether Darwin did an excellentjob over a wide range of subject was a don or a dunce. Gale leans on John C. Green's matter. Darwin had Henslow's instructions and "Reflectionson the progressof Darwin studies" (not Lyell'sfirst volumeto guide him. The latter was par- in the literature cited) for much of his commentary. ticularlyvaluable because it directedhis attention to I would certainlyagree with JacquesBarzun about important geologicalquestions, questions with im- Darwin's begging a question "becausethe begging port in terms of transmutationof species.Receipt of generallycovers pages of circumlocutorymatter," but the secondvolume of Lyell's work raised new ques- disagreewith his comment that "Darwin was not a tions and gave new direction to Darwin. Gale does thinker . . ." or that "Darwin . . . does not belong a good job with Lyell's influenceon Darwin but, if with the great thinkers of mankind." Actually we are anything,undervalues it. To lamentwhat might have backagain to an earliermentioned problem--finding been seemsout of place in view of what was. the "real" Darwin, the man not the myth. We will Gale expands the question of competency by never know Darwin's thoughtsand ideas beyond pointing out that Darwin neededthe 20 yr between those he chose to place on paper for all to see (al- thevoyage of the "Beagle"and the Originto train him- thoughwe do get glimpsesof him from his sonFran- self and collect information. I believe that most bi- cis and from others who knew him). Darwin as a ologistswould agreewith Gale'sassessment, but it thief of ideas seemsan excessiveview, certainly not does not refute Nora Barlow's belief that Darwin re- as probableas Darwin a man of greatand demanding turned from the voyage as "a scientistwho could ambition. commandthe attentionof the greatmen of the day." The book has a short appendix summarizing the Even with the better training of today's scientists, major elementsof Darwin's theory, its difficulties, years would be needed to exploreand understand and its support. Gale does not separatethe "theory" such a question as the (secondary)cause of evolu- into its component parts: the fact of evolution and a tion. [A recentbook by Ospovat (1981, the Devel- theory of its cause•by natural selection.What he opment of Darwin's theory, CambridgeUniv. Press) does in this sectionis to summarizethe arguments has as its theme the development of Darwin's ideas of the Origin--a useful, if misleading, activity. Also, on natural selection.]To suggestthat Darwin was there are copiousnotes on the sourcesof ideas in the somehownot the best man for the job neglectsthe chapters (pp. 171-211), with many referencesand fact that there was no other. ideas not seen in the text. The "works cited" are Gale has some other strawmen that he assaults with divided into primary and secondary sources, a re- dispatch,but again thesedistractions are part of the flection, perhaps, of the author's training in the his- price any readermust pay for almostany, if not all, tory of scienceat the University of Chicago.The au- books. There are severalvery interestingareas. Dar- thor includesreference to only one otherpublication win's correspondencewith JosephHooker and Asa (1972)under his name and is currentlyemployed by Gray is part of the argument of Darwin's managerial the governmentin the Departmentof Energy. skill but also reveals much of the "real" Darwin. Dar- I like the book very much and consider it of the win wrote Hooker on January 20, 1859: "I always samegenre as that of Gillespie, Ghiselin, or Ruse. It comfortmyself with thinking of the future, and in is easy to read, interestinglywritten, and informa- the full belief that the problems which we are just tive•well worth the price.--MALcOL•dJOL[tE. enteringon, will someday be solved;and if we just break the ground we shall have done some service, even if we reap no harvest." This quotationis par- The cotingas.--D. W. Snow. 1982. Ithaca, New ticulady interesting in terms of the present-day re- York/London, England, Cornell University Press/ 780 Reviews [Auk, Vol. 100

British Museum (Natural History), Oxford Univ. have about the base map is that I have been unable Press. 203 pp., 21 color plates, 30 maps, 3 appendi- to locate the explanation of what contour line was ces. $35.00/œ30.--Havingspent over 20 yr studying used to denote the Andes•I am guessingthat it is Neotropical birds, I was elated to hear that David either 1,500 m or 2,000 m. Snow was at work on a book on the cotingas,one of As a reviewer it seems necessaryto point out some the most interestingand diversefamilies of birds. I of the mistakesand problemsin the book. Basically was not to be disappointed--at leastby Snow'spart there are very few, but they have managedto creep of the book. He first addresses some of the obvious in. On Map 8 thereis a symbolfor Ampelionrufaxilla general topicsthat need to be discussed,such as the buried under two symbolsfor A. stresemanniat the origin, classification,and distribution of the group; northern end of the Cordillera Bianca in central Peru evolutionaryradiation and sociobiology;color, or- west of the Marafi6n River--the former, a humid for- namentation,and display structures;and breeding est, east-slopebird, surelydoes not occurin the high and the annual cycle. He then begins a section on Polylepisforests occupied by the latter. Although systematicsof the family that takes up most of the sevenlocalities are mentionedfor A. stresemanni,only rest of the book, each chapterpresented by genus. six are plotted on the map; the missinglocality seems He avoids giving detailed descriptionsof typical to be the one in the easternAndes listed by Parker plumagesas they are availablein a number of other on p. 62. On Map 21 a locality for Lipauguscrypto- publications; however, full attention is given to lophusthat is westof the Marafi6n River surely must plumagesnot well known or those previously un- be wrong--anothercase of a humidforest, east-slope described,and plumagesequences and molt are also speciesthat would not be expectedin the high, arid well documentedwhen appropriate.If, as in Pipreo- brushland.There may be other suchproblems, but la, there are severalspecies groups within a genus, probably not many. he discusses related birds at the same time. After Other spot checksrevealed few other problems or discussingthe systematicsof the membersof a ge- omissions,but I did note that the origin of the name nus, he then covers habitat, food, behavior, breed- tallmanorum,which I applied to Pipreolariefferii tall- ing, plumagesand molt, physicalcharacters such as manorum (named for Dan and Erika Tallman, who structure(both externaland internal, including soft- worked in the region of the type locality),was omit- part colors), and, lastly, gives brief commentson ted from Appendix 2; Mcllhenny, as applied to Con- geographicvariation and presentsmeasurement and ioptilonmcilhennyi, was, happily, included! weight data, where available,for a selectedgroup of Any negativecomments I may haveabout the text forms. Severalgenera and specieswith which Snow of this excellentbook are truly "nit-picking." Snow had little or no experienceare presentedas chapters has done a fabulousjob. What is not known about written by others,notably Ampelion by TheodoreA. cotingasis, however, enough to illustrate yet again Parker, III, Conioptilonby JohnW. Fitzpatrick, and that field studiesof Neotropicalbirds are still sorely Rupicolaperuviana by CesarE. Benalcazarand Fa- needed. Some of the finest, most detailed research biola Silva de Benalcazar.Following the generic dis- on cotingashas been done by Snow and his wife cussionsare appendicescovering geographicvaria- Barbaraand waspreviously published elsewhere, but tion among membersof the family, the derivations summarized for this book. Their studies of the bi- of the scientificnames of membersof the family, and zarre Calfbird, Perissocephalustricolor, and of several one that adds to the distribution maps that accom- of the bellbirds, Procnias, are excellent models for pany eachgenus or set of genera. other studentsof cotinganatural history to follow. The book is one of the first of many dealing with The cotingasare one of the mostbizarre, beautiful, an entire family of birds to use a good comparative and varied group of birds as canbe found anywhere. presentation. Although Snow rarely mentions the I had hoped to find them well illustratedin this book, superspeciesconcept, his presentation,both in the but I was disappointedby the 21 plates by Martin text and on the maps, often makes it obvious that Woodcock.These plates show the adultsof all species certain membersof a genus probably do represent and, when appropriate,show somegeographic, sex- membersof a superspecies(i.e. map 18, p. 99, show- ual, or agevariation. The illustrationsare adequate, ing the distribution of the three forms of Carpo- but not much better. After seeing the nice paintings dectes).The maps are amongthe best that have been that Woodcock did for Derek Goodwin's recent new in any bird book. Often taking up nearlythree-quar- book Estrildidfinches of the World (1982. Ithaca, New ters of a page, they may seem wastefullylarge to York, Cornell Univ. Press), I am convinced that somepeople, but their size allowsfor accurateplace- Woodcock has not seen a living cotinga. In general ment of symbols and, when necessary,allows for his cotingaillustrations are quite lifeless.Many of most of South America and part of Central America the birds have greatly oversizedeyes, such as those to be on a single map. The Andes are shown in a on the Pipreolaplates; some large birds, suchas those gray-shadedtone and in greatdetail, and mostmajor on the plate of Cephalopterus,look small, almost rivers are indicated, making obvious breaks in dis- manakinlike; some, such as the Phoenicircus, are too tribution clearly evident. The only complaintthat I thin and long-tailed;the adult male Querulapurpu- July 1983] Reviews 781 rata has only a single long tertial insteadof three as Afr. Omithol. Congr.) and Bentz (1979. Bull. Car- it should. I am also reminded of a comment that negie Mus. Nat. Hist. 15) arrived independentlyat GeorgeSutton once made to me aboutbackgrounds the conclusionthat the viduinesare closelyrelated and plants: "they are just as important as the bird to the estrildids. Bentz proposedmaking the vi- and deservejust as much attention." I wish Wood- duines a subfamily(Viduinae) of the Estrildidaeand cockhad spentmore time on the plants and back- that the currentlyrecognized estrildid tribes be raised groundsthan he apparentlydid. Again, I am being to subfamilies:Poephilinae, Lonchurinae,Estrildi- "picky," but I did wait with greatanticipation to see nae. If Bentzis correct,then the colorfulpalate mark- this marvelousfamily of birds well depicted and I ings and head-twistbehavior of nestlingsmust have was disappointed.I supposethat Woodcockwas able beenpresent in the "ancestral"viduine, "preadapt- to see many of the Estrildid finches alive because ing" it to its parasitic mode of life. Perhapsmore thesebirds are commonlykept in captivity,and thus modem techniquesin systematics(e.g. DNA-hy- he avoided many of the problemshe had with the bridization) will provide us with answers to this cotingas.The platesdo performtheir function--they taxonomiccontroversy. are pretty and they are well reproduced.Really, I Followingthe introductionare two shortchapters must say that they are adequate,but they are just on distributionand adaptiveradiation and plumage not up to my expectations.I guessonce someone sees and coloration.This is followedby a longerchapter Guy Tudor'scotingas in the Guideto thebirds of Ven- (pp. 20-50) on behaviorand biology.Goodwin dis- ezuela(1978. Princeton, New Jersey,Princeton Univ. cusses(p. 21) the experimentsdemonstrating the Ze- Press),it is difficultto be satisfiedwith portrayals bra Finch's(Poephila guttata) ability to survivelong that are not as good! periodswithout water. He suspectssimilar abilities I did find one legendmixup-the labelsfor two of in other desert forms: these have been demonstrated the Xipholenaspecies are switched so that White- in Cutthroat Finches(Amadina fasciata) (Edmonds, winged is calledWhite-tailed and vice-versa,but since 1968. Auk 85: 326) and Silverbills (Lonchuracantans only one speciesof the three has a white tail, the and L. malabarica)(Willoughby, 1969. Comp. Blo- problem is easyto solve. chem. Physiol.28: 655). Although I have picked out problemsin the text In the sectionon "Voice" (p. 48) Goodwin cites and maps,and I havebeen "ruthless" with the qual- Nicolai, who statedthat soundspectrograms only ity of the illustrations,I mustsay that Thecotingas is imperfectlyreproduced the variety and nuancesof one of the finestbooks on a singlefamily of birds to estrildidcalls, and that callseasily distinguished by appear in a long time. Insteadof simply reporting the unaidedear may lookalmost identical on a sono- the facts, and information is presented in such a gram.This may be true if onerelies only on the tra- manner as to suggestmany areaswithin the family ditionalpitch versus time displays.The recentampli- that are in need of further study.Anyone interested tude-displaymodules developed by Kay Elemetrics in tropicalbirds or just an exceedinglyinteresting would probablyenable investigators to amplifyand group of birds will want to own this book. As a 1982 quantify small tonal (pitch-amplitude)differences publicationwith 21 colorplates the price is not bad.- betweenmorphologically similar signals(see e.g. JoHN P. O'NEILL. techniquesin Bowman,1979. J. Ornithol. 120:354). Goodwin does not believe that a rigid distinction between"courtship" and "undirected"song could Estrildid finches of the world.--Derek Goodwin. be drawn(p. 49).Recent studies of ZebraFinch songs 1982. London, British Museum (Natural History); by Sossinkaand B6hner(1980. Z. Tierpsychol.53: Ithaca,New York, ComstockPublishing Associates. 123), however, revealeda number of quantifiable 328 pp., 8 colorplates. $45.00.--The Old-World fam- differencesbetween the two songtypes. ily Estrildidaecomprises some 139 species.In this, Threat displaysare usuallypoorly developedin the third monographictreatment of an avian family Estrildids(p. 38). There are a few exceptions,how- by a prolific scholar,Goodwin brings togetherthe ever, which Goodwin should have called attention vast literatureon classificationand biology of this to in this section,notably the highly ritualized dis- fascinatinggroup. Severalof the more detailedstud- plays of the African Mannikins (Spermestes/Odonto- ies reviewed are his own. spizagroup) and L. (Padda)oryzivora. These are de- In the introductorychapter (p. 7) the author dis- scribedlater in the speciesaccounts of the Bronze cussesthe relationshipof the viduinesto the estril- Mannikin (L. cucullata) and Java Finch, but over- dids. He favorsthe view that the viduinesare prop- looked in L. (Odontospiza)griseicapilla. erly placed in the Ploceidae, and that the Chapter5 (pp. 5164) dealswith keepingestrildids morphologicaland behavioral similarities with the in captivity and contains much useful information estrildidsdo not reflectrelationship but are the result for the hobbyist or scientist who wishes to main- of specialadaptations of the avian parasitesto their tain captivestocks for study. hosts.Based on studiesof pterylosisand appendic- Species accountsfollow in Chapter 6. Goodwin ular myology, however, Morlion (1980.Proc. IV Pan- treatsthe estrildidsas 21 speciesgroups. The distri- 782 Reviews [Auk, Vol. 100 bution of eachspecies is illustratedby a map. A little bearsa singlehorseshoe typical of Lonchuraspecies. over a third of the speciesare illustrated in color. A The Bibfinch and both silverbills sometimes use nests general descriptionof each speciesgroup, their hab- of weavers (Ploceidae) in which to breed. I would its, and Goodwin's interpretationsof their taxonom- favor mergingthe Bibfinchin the genusLonchura. ic affinities precedesthe details on each species.A This would be consistent with Goodwin's treatment plumage descriptionof each speciesis followed by of Lonchura(Padda) oryzivora and Estrilda(Coccopy- brief subspeciesdescriptions, then (when available) gia) melanotis,which, like the Bibfinch,have peculiar sections on field characters, distribution and habitat, plumage characteristicsbut have been merged in the feeding and general habits, nesting, voice, display larger genera.In addition to the dove (Alectroenas) and behavior, and list of references. mentionedby author (p. 261)are severalMadagascan Mayr (1968. Breviora, Mus. Comp. Zool. 287: 1) specieswith close relatives in Asia rather than Af- noted (p. 5) that: "The Estrildidaeappear to be unique rica. These include an owl (Ninox), a Bulbul (Hyp- among bird families in that color pattern is a rela- sipetes),a Magpie Robin (Copsychus),a Cuckoo (Cu- tively poor clue to relationship." Taxonomistshave culus) (Moreau, The bird faunas of Africa and its often relied on behavioral charactersin assigninges- islands. New York, Academic Press, 1966). It should trildids to genus, subgenusor tribe (the subfamily not be surprising, then, that an Asiatic Mannikin of Bentz, op. cit.). Goodwin pointsout that the "straw also managedto colonizethe island. display" (p. 40) is the most widespread among es- In addition to the morphologicalcharacters (p. 262) trildids and is probably phylogeneticallythe oldest shared by the African mannikins (subgenus Sper- form of courtship display. In its completeform (il- mestes)and L. griseicapillaare a suite of unique be- lustrationson pp. 39-41) a bird holds a straw by one havior patternsthat they share.These include double tip, then bouncesup and down a perch by alternate begging calls, a wing-up fighting posture,and abs- stretchingand bendingof the legs.The strawdisplay ence of "peering." Goodwin notes that most L. gris- is widespreadamong waxbills (Estrildae)but is thus eicapilla display with a straw. Some individuals, far unknown for members of the genus Lonchura however, court with bill wide open and tongue wag- sensu stricto. ging (p. 269), a display shared with Spermestes.! The displaysof Lonchuraleucogastra are hitherto would thus favor merging Odontospizain Spermestes, undescribed.A hybrid L. striatax L. leucogastra as the chief differences between the two taxa are in (producedin my laboratory)was backcrossedto its plumage coloration/pattern. mother (L. leucogastra).The backcrossconsistently None of my remarksare meant as seriouscriticism. gave a full straw display. L. striatax L. leucogastra ! consider Goodwin's book a splendid synthesis of hybrids backcrossedto L. striatafemales produced what is known on Estrildids. Bringing together all two male offspring with displaysalmost identical to the literature, especially all the German literature, L. striata (bowing, lateral pivoting, mandibulating). was an enormousundertaking. The author writes for It is thus likely that the straw displayis typical of L. the biologist and aviculturist. Estrildids are often leucogastra.The presenceof the strawdisplay is thus colorful and usually easily maintained and bred in not a good clue to phylogeneticrelationships, as captivity. Much of our knowledge of this group has Goodwin proposes(see beyond). Some mannikins been contributedby aviculturists:there are 109 ref- may hold a straw during the introductoryportions erencesfrom GefiederteWelt and 77 from Avicultural of their display(L. punctulata,L. striata,L. spectabi- Magazinein the speciesaccounts. The author's syn- lis). thesis revealsthat displaysare still unknown for at G/ittinger has argued convincinglythat the Mad- least 43 species,and that detailed field studies (e.g. agascanBibfinch (L. nana) is not relatedto the Af- those on Lagonostictasenegala by Morel and Payne) rican Spermestesgroup. Goodwin agreeswith G/it- have been regrettablyfew. He also callsattention to tinget in resurrecting the monotypic genus quite a number of hitherto unsolved taxonomic Lepidopygia.Goodwin noted (p. 261) a generalized problemson species,generic, and subfamiliallevels. resemblance between the Bibfinch and the two sil- I recommend this book to all who are interested in verbills (Euodice), but added that the similarities keeping and/orstudying estrildidfinches or birds in might be due to convergence.He suggestedthat the general.Those looking for biologicalproblems to solve straw display of the Bibfinch may indicate relation- who sharethe author's sentimentsthat (p. 10) "small ship with the African Waxbills (Estrildae).Data sug- is beautiful," will find a wealth of useful information gest to me that the Bibfinchmay indeed be closely in this opus.--Lu•s F. BAPTISTA. related to the silverbills and Asiatic Mannikins. The Bibfinch sharesthe straw displaywith the silverbills (and probablyL. leucogastra).Calls of the Bibfinch The California Islands:Proceedings of a multidis- are morphologicallysimilar to thoseof the silverbills, ciplinarysymposium.--Dennis M. Power(Ed.). 1980. notably L. malabarica.Both Bibfinchand silverbills Santa Barbara, California, Santa Barbara Museum of havenaked young (contra G/ittinger, not all Lonchura Natural History and Haagen Printing. vii + 797 pp., havenaked young). The palate of thenestling Bibfinch coverphoto by F. G. Hochberg,247 figs. (including July 1983] Reviews 783

2 foldout maps in color), 126 tables. $20.00.--This throughdestructive browsing and grazing.The latter book resultsfrom a conferenceheld on 27 February activities,coupled with a majorfire, have alsocaused through 1 March 1978 in Santa Barbara, California, seriousdeterioration of the grovesof Pinusmuricata where over 400 personsgathered to hear and discuss on Santa Cruz Island. Hobbs describesthe present 69 papersdealing with the geology,biology, and an- conifer stands there as senescent,with poor or no thropologyof the California or ChannelIslands. regeneration.The effectson the residentavifauna of After an introductionby Power, the 43 included such pervasive habitat modification, described for papers are divided under six major headings:"Geo- virtually all of the major islands, cannot have been logicHistory and Paleontology";"Prehispanic Man"; minor. "Vegetation Changes and the Impact of Fetal Ani- The ornithologicalpapers deal specificallywith mals"; "Evolution and Ecology of Land Plants"; seabirds(Hunt et al.; Wingfield et al.; Hand), land "Biogeography,Evolution, and Ecologyof Marine birds(Diamond and Jones, Power), historical changes Organisms"; and "Biogeography, Evolution, and in the populationsof residentraptors (Kiff), nesting Ecologyof Land Animals." Althoughonly eight titles biologyof the endemicform of ScrubJay (Aphelo- deal explicitly with birds, an impressivenumber of coma coerulescensinsularis) (Atwood), and avifaunal other papers provide data of fundamental relevance remainsfrom Indian middens on San Miguel Island to any interpretation of the history of the avifaunas (Guthrie). As Hunt et al. state, 11 species(approx. of these islands. For example, on the basis of geo- 24,000pairs) of primarily marine birds nest on the logicevidence, Junget and D. L. Johnson,and Vedder islandsoff southernCalifornia, somereaching sub- and Howell cast serious doubts on the existence of a stantial population sizes [e.g. Cassin'sAuklet (Pty- possibleQuaternary land bridgeor bridgesbetween choramphusaleuticus) at ca. 11,150 pairs]. Some re- either the Santa Monica Mountains on the mainland markable population changeshave occurredduring and the chain of northern islandsor between any of historicaltimes, many of which are directly or in- the other islands. Nonetheless, the likelihood of a directlyattributable to man. SanMiguel Island, with shallower(estimated maximum water depth of 100 14,000 to 15,000 pairs, supports the largest seabird m) and narrower (6 km) Quaternarychannel between colonies.In general, most seabirdsnest on the small the mainlandand the northerngroup of islandsmakes islands and offshore rocks that lack foxes. Two pa- the past barrier seemmuch lessformidable than pre- pers concernthe WesternGull (Larusoccidentalis wy- viously has been envisioned. Wenner and D. L. mani). In the first (Wingfield et al.), the origin of the Johnsonalso argue against a land bridge, based on homosexualpairing that occursin a significantpro- distributional information from terrestrial verte- portion of the breedingadults of this specieson San- brates exclusiveof birds. They invoke sweepstakes ta Barbara Island is examined. The hypothesis cur- dispersalas the primary mechanismby which the rently favored to explain suchfemale-female pairing islands were populated by land organisms.These is that the sex ratio is skewed toward this sex. How- authorsalso propose that prehistoricman couldhave ever, we still lack an explanationof why femalesoc- either inadvertently or intentionally transportedto cur in excessof males in these breeding colonies. the islandsvarious small reptiles and mammals as Hand documentsa stable or growing population of pets or food. This method of colonizationwas pro- nesting Western Gulls on Bird Rock, Santa Catalina posed earlier (N. K. Johnson 1972, Condor 74: 311) Island, between 1965-1966and 1974, although the as a possible sourcefor the distinctive form of the number of fledglingsproduced in 1974was signifi- CaliforniaQuail (Lophortyxcalifornica catalinensis) on cantlylower than found in the earliercensuses. Santa Catalina Island. Berger'sreport of a probable In a paper that is surprisinglysimilar in content mammoth kill site on Santa Rosa Island, complete to their earlier offering (Jonesand Diamond 1976, with a fire area and stone tools and dated by the Condor 78: 526), Diamond and Jones discuss avi- radiocarbonmethod as being at least 40,000yr old, faunal turnoveron the CaliforniaIslands. Once again suggests that Indians have been on the California they seriously underestimate both the probable Islands for a much longer tenure than previously amount of turnover due to sampling error (pseudo~ supposed.Consequently, aboriginal influences on the turnover) and that causedby man and his fires, DDT, insularflora and fauna are likely to have been pro- goats, sheep, and rabbits on these much-abusedis- longed and widespread.Indeed, D. L. Johnson,in a lands. More importantly, they continueto give un- separatepaper, describesthe profound stripping of warranted importance to the low level of real turn- vegetation and erosion on San Miguel Island pre- over that probablydoes occur,when, in fact, no one sumablyresulting from the substantialpopulation of has yet presentedany convincingevidence that the both late Pleistoceneelephants and prehistoricman. tiny number of speciesand of individuals on which Modern man and his domesticanimals, especially avifaunal turnover calculationsusually are based is goats and sheep, have also exactedtheir toll on the anything more than a trivial fringe componentof in- native flora, as several authors (Minnich, Brum- sular ecodynamics.As Simberloffputs it (1976, Ecol- baugh, Hobbs, and Coblenz) lament. Coastal sage ogy 57: 630), experimentsare necessary"to examine scrubhas been especiallyreduced on severalislands, whether faunal turnover is significant in sizeable 784 Reviews [Auk,Vol. 100 communities or whether it is a quaint, mathemati- Miguel within the last 2,000 yr. Becauseremains of cally tractable, but usually minor effect observable the HouseFinch are lacking from the relativelyabun- only in systemssmaller than thoseof interestto most dant passerinematerial from one site, Guthrie sug- ecologists." gests that this speciesdid not occur on the island Focusing on the morphologically distinct bird prior to 500 B.P. Snow Geese (Chenhyperborea) and populationson GuadalupeIsland of speciesthat also probably other granivorousanatids were eaten by occur on other California Islands, Power presentsa the prehistoric humans. Most marine birds, how- thoroughanalysis of size variation in the RockWren ever, seem to have been killed for their feathers rath- (Salpinctesobsoletus) and House Finch (Carpodacus er than for food. These are just a few of the points mexicanus), based on his own measurements. For illuminated by this very informativeanalysis. other Guadalupe Island differentiates, measure- In sum, this book is a first-rate, scholarlyproduc- mentspublished by otherswere used. Although much tion. The generallevel of papersis high, with many chaotic or patternlessvariation is revealed, the most contributions containing sophisticateddata, thor- extremeisland phenotypesfor both the Rock Wren oughanalyses, and resultsof lastingvalue. And, with and House Finch occur on Guadalupe Island; inter- an abundanceof good illustrationsand a pleasing mediate phenotypesare found on the San Benito Is- format, the book is also attractive. Organization is lands. Much of the variation in the size characters logicaland editing has been painstaking;I noted no studied for the nine speciesas a group seemedto errors beyond the trivial flaw that when my copy relate mainly to variation in the singleparameter of restson its back the title on the spine is upside down. body size. The increasein bill size commonlyfound Power's summary is a well-reasonedreview of the in island birds is reported for severalof the taxa ex- major points of each contributionconsidered in the amined, but Powerdid not uncoverany generalin- light of past investigationsand new researchtech- sular trends in this feature. niques, models,and theories.Although no real syn- Kiff's paper thoroughlydocuments the extermi- thesis emerges,such would perhapsbe premature nation of the formerlysubstantial populations of the and especiallydifficult to developat this point be- Bald Eagle (Haliaeetusleucocephalus), Osprey (Pan- causethe contentsof the volume are too disparateto dion haliaetus),and Peregrine Falcon (Falcoperegri- permit the telling of a unified story. Nonetheless, nus) from the Channel Islands. The data he marshalIs these proceedingsform a fine sequelto the first at- overwhelminglysupport the view that man was re- tempt at a cohesive treatment of the California Is- sponsiblefor the demise of the Bald Eagleand Per- lands(R. N. Philbrick (Ed.), Proceedingsof the Sym- egrine Falcon;information for the Osprey, however, posiumon the Biologyof the CaliforniaIslands, Santa is equivocalon this point. Becausethese specieshave BarbaraBotanic Garden), published in 1967 and still figured prominentlyin the calculationof avifaunal a valuable reference.Hopefully, the favorabletrend turnover rates for the California Islands, Kiff cor- establishedby Philbrickand Powerwill continueand rectly concludesthat "It is difficult to see the rele- our dedicatedcolleagues in SantaBarbara will pub- vance to natural turnover rates of calculations based, lish, sometime around 1993, a third volume of ap- in large part, upon man-induced extinctions." proximately1,700 pages devoted to thesefascinating Atwood offers important new information on the islands.--NEv K. JOHNSON. breeding biology of the island form of Scrub Jay. Basicallythe nesting of A. c. insularisis similar to that reportedfor mainlandpopulations of the species An introduction to behavioural ecology.--J. R. in the western United States. Mean clutch size of the Krebs and N. B. Davies. 1981. Sunderland, Massa- islandsubspecies, however, is significantlylower than chusetts,Sinauer Associates,Inc. 292 pp. $16.50 pa- in two racesfrom the adjacentmainland, a finding per, $39.60cloth.--This is a book "about the survival in keeping with the hypothesis that temperate in- value of behaviour . . . about competitionbetween sular forms are more subjectto K-selectionthan are individuals for the chanceto reproduceand passon their mainland counterparts.Although nest preda- their genesto future generations"(p. 1). It is based tion may be high in A. c. insularis,the island jays largelyon two main premises:(1) that genesare self- have very low (19%) mortalitybeyond the nest and ish and (2) that animals will tend to optimize. These early fledgling stage,and in this respectclosely re- premises are based in turn on the fundamental as- semblethe Florida ScrubJay (A. c. coerulescens). sumption "that animals are well adaptedto their en- Finally, Guthrie's paper providesnew information vironments" (p. 27). Thus, the entire book focuses on the past avifauna of San Miguel Island, basedon on the question of how "a particular behavior con- analysisof remainsfrom four rich midden sites with tribute(s) to the animal's inclusive fitness" (p. 28). varying durations of occupancybetween 4770 and Predictablyoccurring (and reoccurringin mostcases) 400 B.P. Three speciesof birds not currentlyknown buzz words and concepts include "cheaters and to nest on the island, the extinct genus Chendytes, sneakers;evolutionary arms racesand chases;(ho- Manx Shearwater (Puffinus puffinus), and Leach's mosexual)rape, chastity belts, and transvestites; Storm Petrel (Oceanodromaleucorhoa), bred on San cuckoldry,sperm competition, and paternitycertain- July 1983] Reviews 785 ty; altruism, inclusivefitness, and kin selection;in- adaptation. To be fair, however, the authors do cest and inbreeding; honesty, reliable signals, and sometimesstress that these ideas are merely hypoth- manipulation; allocations,investments, and costsand eses. benefits;and selfishgenes, optimality models,game while many behavioral ecologistsand sociobiol- theory, and evolutionarilystable strategies." These ogistshave abandonedthe use of loadedterms such terms provide both a capsulesummary of book con- as rape, transvestite,etc. (and others listed earlier), tent and an index of writing style. Krebs and Davies argue that anthropomorphicmo- Krebsand Davieshave produceda highly readable tivations should not be confused with functional account of "behavioural ecology." Chapters and consequences,and that "all the 'ifs' and 'buts' of an chaptersections typically begin with a relativelybrief impeccablycautious and impregnableaccount would general introduction to the topic, followed by de- have made the book twice as long and half as easy tailed accountsof examplestudies. In Chapter9 ("Co- to understand"(p. 247). In this style, then, we learn operationand helping in birds, mammalsand fish"), of "gangs"of smallfishes "chasing females and stim- discussionsof the FloridaScrub Jay (Aphelocoma coe- ulatingthem to spawnwith the group('gang bangs')" rulescens),Pied Kingfisher (Ceryle rudis), Ostrich (p. 166), and that "from the plant's point of view the (Struthiocamelus), and Groove-billed Ani (Crotopha- bee is a flying penis" (p. 230), and that it is no "evo- ga sulcirostris)comprise about 101/2of the 18 pages. lutionary surprise . . . that our nosecells do not pro- In this chapter accountsof bird, mammal, and fish ducesperms or eggs"(p. 199).Science should be fun, examplescover roughly 11, 3, and 1/3pages, respec- and scientistsmust have a senseof humor; yet casual tively, leaving about 3 pagesfor more generaltopics use of words and analogies,while appropriatein pri- plus I page for the Conclusion,Summary, and Fur- vate, may in public do a developingdiscipline more ther Readingsections. In another18-page chapter (2: harm than good. "Ecology and Adaptation: Comparison between This informalityis furtherreinforced by useof the Species"), detailed accountsof weaver birds, African first names, or even nicknames, of some scientists, ungulates,and primates compriseabout 2, 1, and 9 but the rules of use are not always dear. Certain pages, respectively. Other chapters contain more associates,such as Brian, Jane, Nick, Paul, and Rich- generalcommentary than thesetwo, and still others ard, are understandable.Curiously, though, Pat re- containdetailed accounts of other taxonomicgroups verts to Patrick (pp. 230, 259), while Robert slips to (e.g. Chapter8: "AlternativeStrategies," where frogs, Bob (pp. 116,201); Wilson and Hamiltonremain E.O. crickets,wasps, and fish are featured). Overall, 38 of and W.D., and Hinde simply Hinde; embarrassing- the 93 photographsand excellentfigures, and 13 of ly, Nancy is really Mary Sue (p. 216). the 28 tables, deal directly with birds. Given the premisesof the book, it is understand- The book is highly readable, not only becauseof able that Dawkins and Maynard Smith are featured the lavish attention to "stories" of animal (and some throughout (their names occur on 25 pagesapiece, plant) adaptation, but also because of the "conve- accordingto the Author Index). Othersoccurring on nient and informal shorthand rather than traditional 10 or morepages include Bertram, Brockman, Clut- formal scientificstyle" (p. 3). The style is straight- ton-Brock,Hamilton, Harvey, Krebs,and Parker.The forward, often given in the form of question-and- information and 401 referencesare very current, and answer summaries: e.g. "Why then . . . ? The an- a third are 1979 or later, while over half (57%) are swer is ..." (p. 154), "Why is it good ... ? The 1977 or later. The occasional reference to material "in answer is ..." (p. 232). Or, behavioral rules are prep" (aswell as the citationof one 1983paper) gives summarized,as "if big, fight; if small, sneak . . . if the impressionof an excitingand very fast-moving large, call; if small, be a satellite" (p. 156), or "if field, a feature making the book very stimulating. large, steal;if small, hunt" (p. 164). Using such a Who will be interestedin buying this book?Ac- style, the dangers of oversimplificationare large; cordingto the backcover of my paperedition, this Krebs and Davies do remind the reader of the dan- text is "aimed at secondand third year undergrad- gers of "handwaving, by thinking up explanations uates." It is a simplifiedversion of the co-editedvol- . . . without rigorousquantification" (p. 35), and ad- ume, "Behavioural Ecology: an Evolutionary Ap- mit that the storiestold throughoutthe book are proach,"which was intendedmore for upperclassmen "inevitably too simple" (p. 247). The advancedstu- and beginninggraduate students. Given its intended dent and researcher soon realize this. For example, audience,and apart from the writing styleand the characterizingthe environmentof marine fish as a occasionalover-simplifications, I think that the book "giant homogeneouswomb," where zygotes are presentsan excitingand intimateview of behavioral "likely to remain in the same thermal and chemical ecologyfor the undergraduatewith a goodprior in- regime throughoutdevelopment" (p. 139), does in- troductorybiology course.The text is well-written, justice to the considerabletemporal and spatial het- alternative ideas are evaluated and hypothesis-test- erogeneity in marine environments.while warning ing stressed,transitions from chapterto chapterare of handwaving, though, the authorsoffer no short- logical,figures are professionally done, and detailed age of "plausibleideas" for adaptationand counter- commentsthat are unnecessaryfor the flow of the 786 Reviews [Auk, Vol. 100 text are confined to 11 "boxes" set aside from the minimize energyexpenditure per unit of body mass text. Most of the major topicsof behavioralecology and advantagesof large body size. Startingwith the are addressed,including the comparativemethod, anaerobiccondition of primitive earth, the author optimality theory, group living, defending re- considersthe hypothesizedevolution of the synthe- sources,fighting and assessment,sexual selection, sisof ATP (adenosinetriphosphate, the high-energy mating systems(2 chapters),co-operation and altru- storageand transport compound so pervasively im- ism (2 chapters),signal design, and coevolution.Se- portant in nature in cellular metabolism). This is fol- lected portions of these chapterswould be excellent lowed by a discussionof the evolutionof photosyn- readingfor beginningornithology classes.--Dot•AI•V thesis and of the appearanceof the important cellular E. KROODSMA. process of oxidative phosphorylation as the bio- sphereaccumulated oxygen as a consequenceof pho- tosynthesis.Phillipson reviews maintenance energy Physiologicalecology: An evolutionaryapproach expenditurewith respectto body size and phyloge- to resource use.--Colin R. Townsend and Peter Ca- netic status,with three major groupsof organisms low (Eds.). 1981. Sunderland, Massachusetts, Sin- recognized and discussed:unicellular organisms, auer Associates,Inc. xi + 393 pp., figures, tables. multicellular ectotherms, and multicellular endo- $38.00 (cloth), $23.60 (paper).--The editors of this therms. The expositionthen proceedsto a discussion interesting volume explain that their mission is to of regressionrelationships of energy expenditure present organisms (plants, animals, and micro-or- versus body mass, offering explanationsrelative to ganisms) as transformersthat have to apportion fi- such factors as cell membrane surface area, multi- nite input resourcesamong metaboliccompartments cellularanatomy, and avenuesof body heat loss. En- (e.g. cellular respiration, defense, repair, storage, ergy budgets are discussedin ectothermsand en- growth, and reproduction), where optimally favor- dothermichomeotherms, all from an evolutionary able partitioning strategies serve to maximize fit- viewpoint, and stressingproduction efficiency and ness. A total of 13 authors (10 from the United King- maintenance costs. dom, as are the editors, and three from the United Part 2 is entitled "Acquiring the ResourceInput" States)have contributed to this worthwhile endeavor and pursuesthe conceptof fitnessby examiningways in the form of 13 chapters (of 15 to 35 pages each) in which organismsmaximize energy acquisition in- castinto four sections,with introductorycomments put, i.e. the rate at which the energy resourceis ob- provided for the last three sections. tained. In Chapter 3, H. W. Woolhouse presents Part 1 is an introduction, beginning with Calow "Aspectsof the Carbonand EnergyRequirements of and Townsend'schapter on "Energetics,Ecology and Photosynthesis Considered in Relation to Environ- Evolution." They describefitness and natural selec- mental Constraints."Woolhouse gives us the basics tion and explain that ultimate judgment of physio- of the photosyntheticmachinery in plants, of the en- logicaladaptations should be determinedin termsof ergeticsof photorespiration, and of carbon dioxide their effecton genetransmission to succeedinggen- balanceand stomatalwater loss;and some adaptive erations. It is pointed out that studentsof adapta- features of these phenomena are shown. Particular tions traditionallyask, in an a posteriorifashion, what emphasisis then given to the adaptive nature of it is about phenotypic characterscorrelated with par- crassulaceanacid metabolism and C4 photosynthe- ticularecological circumstances that makesthem bet- sis. The chapter concludeswith the tantalizing re- ter able to be transmitted genetically.In a more re- mark that topics not discussed--suchas photosyn- cent approach,one attemptsto predict, a priori (and thetic adaptation to shade, and temperature using conceptualor mathematicalmodels or com- adaptationof the photosynthesicapparatus•also are puter simulations),what phenotypiccharacters ought of importancefor more completeunderstanding of to effectfitness and thus be selectedfor under given the fitnessof particularspecies of plants. ecologicalconditions. This latter approachassumes Townsend teams with Roger N. Hughes in pre- that evolution maximizes neo-Darwinian fitness, that sentingChapter 4, "Maximizing Net EnergyReturns we can use phenotypicmeasures of fitness,that we from Foraging,"which considersforaging theory as have appropriatetechniques with which to find the an analysisof costsvs. benefitsof foraging. Optimal trait that maximizes this fitness measure, and that foragingresults in maximalrate of energyintake and the resultantprediction can be comparedwith ob- may have severalcomponents, such as maximization servations in nature or in controlled experiments. of encounterswith food items and optimal choice of Reservationsconcerning the a prioriapproach are also diet to maximize energy intake per encounter.Dis- discussed.This chapter concludeswith a brief re- cussion then follows of what has been called the flection on r- and K-selection, some historical notes, "marginal value theorem," which speaks of maxi- and a further statementof the objectivesof the book. mizing the net energy gain per unit length of for- Chapter 2 is J. Phillipson's "BioenergeticOptions aging period. The chaptercovers macrophages (car- and Phylogeny," in which are discussedevolution- nivoresand someherbivores), microphages (aquatic ary advantagesof organismic characteristicsthat filter feedersand depositfeeders), but not parasites July1983] Reviews 787 on animals or plants and not herbivores for which elaborateson the intrinsic rate of populationincrease mineral nutrients (rather than energy) are limiting. as a measureof fitness with respectto repair in life Some elementary mathematical models are pre- histories with reproduction that is asexual, semel- sented,but the discussioncan be followed fairly well parous (sexuallyreproducing once), and iteroparous without digestionof them. The authorsconclude that (sexuallyreproducing more than once). there is validity in the basic assumptionthat "the Caroline M. Pond discusses"Storage" as Chapter rate of energygain from food has been a significant 8. The primary focus is the storageof energy, con- limiting factor and has contributed an important se- sidering metabolic costs of storage, kinds of mate- lection pressurein the evolutionof foraging behav- rials stored, and temporal strategiesin deposition ior." and retrieval of the materials. From an examination Chapter 5 is "Strategiesof Digestion and Defeca- of the characteristicsof storage molecules(e.g. ca- tion," by R. M. Sibly. In discussingstrategies of pacities for transport and interconversion), discus- digestion,the phenotypicmeasure of fitnessused is sion proceedsto types of anatomicalsites of energy the rate at which energy is obtained by digestion storagetissues (and their relative advantages).Fac- (althoughit is suggestedthat in flying animals the tors determining the quantity of energy stored in- strategy should also include consideration of the clude metabolic rate and starvation time, effect on weight to be carried). Food processingin digestive the organism'smechanical performance, nutrient ac- systemsbegins with attacking the defensesof the cumulation time, stagein the life cycle,and stagein food item (e.g. by mechanical or chemical means, seasonalcycles. The chaptercloses with a discussion which actuallyexpend energy) and proceedsto ali- of fatty tissue functions other than energy storage. mentary absorption(by which energy is made avail- Calow and Townsend address "Resource Utiliza- able to the consumer organism). Birds and large tion in Growth" as Chapter 9, speaking of rates of mammalsare given specialattention through several growth and developmentas correlatesof fitness.They examples. Models are discussedfor digestion that examine conversionefficiency with respectto effi- involves continuousflow through one compartment, ciency of cell metabolic pathways, and include ref- discontinuousflow through one compartment,and erence to energy of activity and to the bioenergetic continuousflow through two compartments. demands of endothermy. Growth rate as a fitness Part 3 considers"Partitioning the ResourceInput," index is consideredin plants, invertebrates, and poi- that is, the ways in which assimilated energy be- kilothermic and homeothermic vertebrates. The comespartitioned among cellularmetabolism, struc- strategyof a high vis-a-vis a low maximum growth tural and functional repair, defense, reproduction, rate is discussed with respect to selective value in and storage;and it presentsphysiological, ecologi- severalecological situations: exposure to high rate of cal, and evolutionary implications of various parti- predation,short breeding season,high level of com- tioning strategies.First, Daniel H. Janzenoffers ob- petition in plants, and low resourceavailability (and servationson "Evolutionary Physiologyof Personal concomitanthigh stress). The chapter section enti- Defence" (Chapter 6). Defense(whether physicalor tled "Is growth rate maximized or optimized?" con- chemical) is discussed in a resticted sense, i.e. with siders that there may be costsas well as benefits in respectto predatorsand parasites,not with respect rapid growth. This is followed by a discussion of to competitorsor to physical environmentalfactors. passively and actively controlled growth (the likely In this chapter, Janzenconsiders natural selectionof outcomesof a maximizationor optimizationgrowth the defensivecharacteristics of seeds,the servingof strategy, respectively), and simple models are pre- some defensive characteristics in additional useful sented for each. This chapter closeswith some con- functions, and untapped potential for defense.Much siderations of body form, discussingprimarily al- emphasisis on evolutionary considerations,includ- lometrywith respectto resourceallocation and body ing anachronisms,coevolution (with a warning that function. most organisms studied today evolved their dis- In Chapter 10, Calow discusses"Resource Utili- played traits in habitats other than those in which zation and Reproduction," showing how the rela- they are observed),and defensecosts to the defend- tionship between energyintake and body weight and ed. between energy output and body weight jointly de- "Repair and Its Evolution: Survival versus Repro- termine the maximum metabolic limit to body size. duction" is the subjectof Chapter 7, by T. B. L. Kirk- He then considersthat body size must in fact be less wood. It is pointed out that there are relationships than the maximum so that there is energyavailable between repair and fitness, and between repair and for reproduction, and a model is presentedto show defense, and fitness costs and benefits are discussed. the effect of resourceavailability to this amount of Special attention is given to intracellularrepair, re- energy. Life-cycle strategies (iteroparous versus pair by cell division in plants and animals, and the semelparous)are discussedrelative to energeticcosts relationship between repair and life history. In the of reproduction and somatic metabolism. Mathe- latter discussion, distinction is made between main- matical models are used to examine the question of tenance repair and emergency repair. The author optimizing gamete number with respect to gamete 788 Reviews [Auk, Vol. I00 size, employinggamete survivorship as the distinc- sortsof readerbackgrounds needed (and assumed) tion between microgametesand macrogametes.En- ratherthan to the competenceof the authors.Several ergeticcosts of postnatalparental care in animalsare chapters(e.g. 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12 and 13) will hold considered,and the chapterconcludes with discus- specialinterest to thoseof ecologicalorientation. Some sion of fitness implicationsof nonsexualreproduc- chaptersare more speculative in contentthan others, tion and hermaphroditism. essentiallybecause their topicshave as yet foundless Part 4 addresses"Integrated Studies of Bioener- in the way of scientificresolution. More than 600 getic Strategies."In Chapter11, on "Energy,Infor- referencesare cited in a singlebibliography, with mation and Plant Evolution," Otto T. Solbrig begins coverageinternational and fairly recent(in 1981). with someintroductory concepts (e.g. that of genetic The majorattraction of this bookis that it doesa fitness)and he offers commentson geneticand phe- goodjob of satisfyingits primarygoals: to showthat notypic evolutionby natural selection.Optimality organismsare systemsadapted for the capture, models are discussedwith respectto their realism, trnsformation,and transmissionof energy and that predictability, and overall value and limitations to evolutionarysuccess depends upon the efficiency with the theoreticalbiologist. Specifically, models are pre- whichenergy is thusprocessed. The major drawback sentedfor optimalcapture of solarenergy by plants is that its limited scopeis not what its title purports (with emphasison leaf size and shape)and for life- the book to be; it is neither a coverageof physiolog- history strategies(addressing the basic energetic ical ecologynor a treatmentof the use of resources conflict between growth and reproduction).Extant by organisms.The only resourceaddressed consis- theoriesare discussed,together with their assump- tentlyis energy.What is includedis coveredin an tions and possibletesting of the models. illuminatingand provocativefashion, however, al- In Chapter 12, Eric R. Pianka discusses"Resource thoughto encounterin a singlevolume material re- Acquisitionand Allocationamong Animals," essen- lating to animals,plants, and micro-organismswill tially a presentationon animalenergy budgets. His startle(and, alas) disinterestmany who consultit. I approachis to offer brief casehistories of various can envisionthe book servingas a focalpoint for a budgetingstrategies, indicating that many questions graduatestudent seminar course, although the clien- remain relative to their adaptive significance.Using tele will have to prove themselvescomfortable with arthropodexamples, Pianka looks at ontogenicen- somebiochemistry and mathematicsin addition to ergy budgetchanges, fitness versus fecundity, and possessinga background in evolutionarythought.-- growthversus reproduction. Then he examinesen- JERROLDI•I. ZAR. ergyneeds with respectto morphologyin weasels, trophiclevel in mammals,and foraging strategy and coadaptationin lizards. Overall, many interesting Worterbuch der Verhaltensforschung(Dictionary observationsand conclusionsare presented, while of ethology).--KlausImmelmann. 1982. Berlin and alludingto manymore questions still unanswered. Hamburg,Paul Parey.317 pp., 123figures. DM 38 L. M. Goslingand M. Petriedefine a socialsystem (about$16.00 paper).--This is an attractivelymade as "the sum of the individually determinedbehav- bookwith unusuallylarge type and illustrationsfor a iors" in Chapter13, "The Economicsof SocialOr- dictionary.It looksand almost reads like a textbook ganizations."In this way they feel that featuresof andI suspectit will be usedprimarly by Germanun- animalgroups can be viewedas consequences of such dergraduates.Each German entry is followedby the a summationand not as featuresupon which natural Englishequivalent and thereis an English"index" selectionoperates directly. Behaviors are considered that lists the Germanequivalents for Englishterms. in two groups:those oriented toward survival and The book could thus be used as a German-English maintenance of the individual, and those directed or English-Germandictionary. As such, it invites towardreproduction; and they are viewed with re- comparisonwith Armin Heymer'sEthological Dic- gard to effectsof energeticconstraints forced upon tionary(1977. New York, Garland,$22.50). Heymer's them. The authorsdiscuss how bioenergeticsof the book'is a truly trilingualdictionary: each German individualinfluences antipredation behaviors, feed- entry,including the full definition,is replicatedin ing behaviors,mating behaviors, and behaviorsin- Englishand French, and there are indices in the lat- volvedwith producingand rearingoffspring. Limi- ter twolanguages. For a translator,a full English def- tation of the above considerations are admitted and inition is usefulin providingan understandingof cautionis expressedto thoseattempting to employ the exactmeaning of the word. optimizationmodelling to integratebehaviors into I estimatethat Heymerhas about34% moreGer- an optimum lifetime strategy. man terms listed (1,190) than Immelmann (830). For The book is physicallyreadable, i.e. attractively my detailedcomparison of the two books,I choseto printedwith claritygenerally inclusive of figures,ta- samplethe entries from AAM throughAltruismus (for bles, and mathematicalnotation. The readabilitywith convenience,I will presentGerman words in italics). regardto the subjectmatter will be found to vary Remarkably,I foundonly 14 termsthat occurredin amongthe chapters,largely owing to the different both booksin this sample.Of the 21 terms found July 1983] Reviews 789 only in Immelmann,I think that a personwith only ationsother than those involving danger. This might marginal command of German would find the book mislead an inexperienced translator to believe that useful in translating6; the remaining 15 could be Altruismusapplies only to behaviorsperformed in relatively easily understoodby referenceto an or- the presenceof danger. Immelmann'sdefinition is dinary German-Englishdictionary. A similar pro- excellent, including a variety of behaviors and ex- portion (11/34)of the entries unique to Heymer are plaining reciprocalaltruism, which appearsto be a useful. conceptunknown to Heymer. Immelmann's defini- From my sample,I find deficienciesin both books. tion refers the reader to seven other entries, each of Immelmann translates Absch•ittelnas "throwing which contains information pertinent to altruistic away" and directsthe reader to Totschiitteln,which behaviorand four of which specificallymention al- is given only in the German definition of T6tungs- truism. I found only three of these seven terms in verhaltenand even there it is only mentioned,not Heymer, and the definitionsof eachwere cursory defined, and not translated.Heymer equatesAb- and incomplete.Many of the definitionsin both dic- schiittelnwith Totschiittelnand providesan adequate tionaries refer the reader to other terms; in both this definition of the latter. However, Abschiitteln could is clearlyindicated by an arrow precedingthe word. have a quite differentmeaning than Totschiittelnin An English reader thus could find related terms in other contextsand this couldeasily confuse a trans- Immelmann by simply looking for arrows and then lator. Immelmann translatesAktualgenese as "micro finding theseGerman terms in the dictionary. I did genesis,"a term I find totally uselessfor the ontog- this for some of the seven terms listed in the defi- eny of a behavior in a individual. nition of altruism, thus collectinga chain of terms Heymer translatesAktionssystern as "systemof ac- that I then tried to find in Heymer. This revealed tions" which is completelymeaningless. He alsore- that Heymer is woefully inadequatein the termi- fers the reader to Ethograrnrn,where there is no hint nologyof modem behavioralecology and sociobiol- as to the meaning of Aktionssystern.Immelmann ogy, and the fact that Heymer was published 5 yr wisely lists no English word for Aktionssystern;his before Immelmnn is a totally insufficientexcuse for brief German definition indicates that this is an ob- this deficiency.Indeed, Heymer is generallydefi- soleteterm for which the modem equivalent is be- cient in all evolutionaryand ecologicalaspects of be- havioralrepertoire. He neglectsto mention, charita- havior. Heymer is better than Immelmann for the bly, that Aktionssysternis obsolete because it contains readerinterested in "classical"ethology and, partic- theoreticalconstructs that few modemethologists find ularly, human ethology.Heymer alsocontains more acceptable.However, Immelmann's treatment is bet- obscureand rarely used terms. ter than that of Heymer, which leavesone with the Both dictionariesshould be in the library of any impressionthat Aktionssysternis equivalent to eth- universitywhere researchin animal behavioris per- ogram, which it is not. Heymer translatesAkinesis formed. I would recommend Immelmann to someone into English as "akinesis," a word I cannot find in with more than a beginner'sknowledge of German either of my unabridged Englishdictionaries. I did and who wishes to buy only one German-English find it in my medical dictionarywhere it is defined ethologicaldictionary. I would alsorecommend Im- as a loss of motor function. Heymer's definition is: melmannto any aspiringethologist who is seriously "Immobility determined by reflexes, torpidity re- trying to learn German:read it to help you learn both suitingfrom continuedcontraction of the locomotory German and etho1ogy.--HELMUtC. MUELLER. muscles;e.g., freezing of someanimals esp. insects, in danger." I assume, therefore, that Akinesis is "freezing" behavior or tonic immobility and not hi- W. H. Hudson--A biography.--Ruth Tomalin. bernation or some disorder of the motor nervous sys- 1982. London, Faber and Faber Ltd. 314 pp. $24.95 tem. If the semi-colloquial"freezing" were deleted (cloth).--William Henry Hudson was a naturalist, from his definitionI would not havethe vaguest idea writer, and conservationist.Born of American par- of the meaning of his verbiage. As in the above, ents on the pampasof La Plata, Argentina in 1841, Heymer frequentlypresents what I believeis usefless Williamgrew up surroundedby birds,flowers, snakes, anatomicaland physiologicalinformation at the ex- and insects. His love of nature manifested itself at an pense of an adequatebehavioral explanation. early age and provided his happiest moments Too many of Heymer's definitions are inadequate, throughouta long life. In this thinly settled region e.g. the definition of a neural transmittercould not of Argentinathe youngHudson was isolatedby his be understoodby someonewho did not know what love of nature.The discoveryof Gilbert White's"The they are and how they operate,and if one knows, natural history and antiquities of Selborne" had a one does not need a definition. Some of Heymer's profoundeffect on the 15-yr-oldHudson, recovering inadequate definitions are misleading, e.g. Altru- from typhus and unsure of his future. A bout of ism: "The protectionand assistanceof endangered rheumatic fever affected his heart while still a teen- companionsoccurring in both animals and man." ager, and his future looked very gloomy indeed. There is no hint that altruism might occurin situ- Whilst grappling with the subjectof religious doc- 790 Reviews [Auk, Vol. 100 trine during this period, a gift of Darwin's "The or- collaboratedwith Sclater on "Argentine Ornitholo- igin of species"gave him fuel for new thought.After gy" (1888, 1889). an initial rejectionhe reread the book as a naturalist, In spite of his early collectingpractices, Hudson and eventually becamean evolutionist. His serious had been concernedwith the disappearanceof wild- illnesses and periods of convalescence permitted life and wildlife habitats. In 1891 he allied himself Hudson to defer decisions about his future and to with the newly formed Societyfor the Protectionof travel to places whose natural history was poorly Birds (later the Royal Society for the Protection of chronicled. Birds--RSPB). Hudson helped the societyby writing During the 1860s and early 1870s, Hudson spent pamphlets and publishing letters, and he remained time observing nature and becoming an authority on dosely associatedwith the organization for the re- Argentinian and other South American birds. A ma- mainder of his life. In his will he left "nearly all he jor event during this period was his discovery,in the had" to the RSPB. early 1860s, of the demand for bird skins and other In addition to this direct help, Hudson contributed natural-history specimens and the possibility of considerablyto an increasednature awarenessof the earning a living as a collector. The young Hudson Britishpublic. His descriptionsof nature,starting with sent his specimens to Dr. G. Burmeister, Director of "The naturalist in La Plata" (1892), "Birds in a vil- the Buenos Aires Natural History Museum, and on lage" (1893), "British birds" (1895), and "Birds in his advice approachedSpencer F. Baird in late 1865 London" (1898) brought him critical acclaim, some and offered his collection to the Smithsonian Insti- measureof financial success,and the friendship of tution. Baird was immediately interestedand this was many naturalists, writers, and artists. He could take the beginning of a new careerfor Hudson. Inciden- long vacationsand study trips to the English coun- tally, his first letter to Baird is also the earliestpiece tryside, and use his experiencesin further works. of W. H. Hudson writing to survive. During the last 20 yr of his life Hudson travelled During the next 3 yr Hudson made numerous trips almost continuously around England, studying not around Buenos Aires and sent his collection to Baird. only nature but alsothe people. In his writing, how- In late 1869,however, Baird had to inform the young ever, he used both British and South American ex- collectorthat funds were no longer available. British periences. "El Ombu" (1902), "Green mansions" ornithologistsPhilip Lutley Sclater and Osbert Sal- (1904), and "Far away and long ago" (1918) delighted vin also examined Hudson's collection sent to the the public, as did "Hampshire days" (1903), "Afoot Smithsonian,and in 1868 gave the "first accountof in England" (1909), and "Birds in town and village" their studies"at a meeting of the Zoological Society (1919). He died while finishing "A hind in Rich- of London. Even after Hudson's connection with Baird mond Park" in August 1922. ceased,his relationship with Sclaterand Salvin con- Ruth Tomalin has written a picaresquebiography tinued. He beganwriting about the "habits of birds," of the restless traveller, naturalist, and author. She a practice Sclater encouraged. Further excursionsto follows his life and work as dosely and in as much Patagonia resulted in more essaysand new speci- detail as possible, quite an accomplishmentbecause mens during the early 1870s. Hudson was notoriously vague and reticent about In 1874 Hudson decided to leave Argentina. He certain datesand events. She is at her best describing sailed for England where he met Sclater, who con- Hudson as a literary figure and conservationist. tinued to remain helpful, although the two never In her preface to "Notes and References,"the au- became friends. In 1875 Hudson married and settled thor states,"bird names are those used by Hudson. in London, where for a number of yearsthe Hudsons Modern names, where they are not given below, or led a rather hand-to-mouth existence. While familiar- in the text, may be found in, for example, A Guideto izing himself with the avifauna of London and sur- the Birds of South America, Rudolphe Meyer de rounding regions, Hudson also began writing poet- Schauensee." The author's treatment of bird names ry, essays,and short stories, mostly based on his providesthe mostfrustrating aspect of the book. Cur- experiencesin South America. rent bird names are very rarely incorporated in the His first book, "The purple land that Englandlost," text. References are not numbered in the text, but are was a picaresquestory incorporating his love and given at the end of the book, by chapter,page, and knowledge of the South American land and its plant line. It is annoyingand impracticalto count 30+ lines and animal life. It was published in 1885,but unfor- on any page and then look at the back of the book tunately only one reviewer was enthusiastic. The on the offchance that the current vernacular or sci- much longed for financial successwas not yet forth- entific name of a bird may be found. Tomalin'sdoc- coming and Hudson returned to the writing of essays umentation of British birds is somewhat better, but on natural history, which he later incorporated in uneven. In places she discussesthe different local such works as "The naturalist in La Plata" (1892), and names of a given species.She repeatedly refers to "Idle days in Patagonia" (1893). While increasingly Hudson's encounters with "white owls" and "brown hoping to conquerthe literary market, Hudson also owls," however, apparently unaware that three July 1983] Reviews 791 speciesof "brown owl" are present in southern En- Kestrel (Falcosparverius) and Northern Mockingbird gland all year around (Athene noctua,Asio otus,and (Mimus polyglottos)]were recorded in the province of Strix aluco),and Asiofiammeus winters there. Quebec; bioacousticians interested in more data would The documentation of biographical and literary have to write the author or perhaps one of the seven sourcesis more thorough, but again the lack of num- who contributed the recordings. The record jacket is bering in the text makes it awkward for the reader handsomelydesigned, with a singing Magnolia War- to get the right reference easily. The book contains bier (Dendroicamagnolia) and Northern Harrier (Cir- a number of interesting black-and-white photo- cus cyaneus)gracing the front and back covers, re- graphs,including one the young Hudson sent to Pro- spectively,and with photographs(some quite bluish) fessor Baird in 1868, which was rediscovered in the of an additional 12 speciesinside. Overall, Morency, 1940s.The appendicesinclude Hudson's 1870 attack with the assistanceof Raymond Cayouette, has pro- on Darwin, concerningSouth American woodpeck- duced for the ornithological audiophile a pleasant ers, together with Darwin's reply. "field trip," especiallyfor those fluent in French.- The book will be of interest to anyone who has DONALD E. KROODSMA AND DAVID A. SPECTOR. enjoyed the books of W. H. Hudson and to ornithol- ogists willing to do a bit of detective work on the South American birds mentioned in the text. It will A field guide to the Grand Canyon.--Stephen be a useful addition to the Biographysection of any Whitney. 1982. New York, Quill. 320 pp., 87 plates, library.--MARIANNE GOSZTONYIAINLEY. 17 figures, index. Paper, $12.50.--Given the vast ar- ray of interpretive and explanatory literature on the Grand Canyon already in print, one may question Une journ6e chez les oiseaux(A day with the the wisdom or motivation for adding yet another ti- birds).--Pierre Morency. 1981.La Soci6t6zoologique tle. Stephen Whitney, author of the latest contribu- de Qu6bec.(33 rpm discavailable from Diskade,2322, tion, had a different perspective in mind, however. rue Sherbrooke est, Montr6al, Qu6bec H2K IE5 Can- Whitney's stated intent in undertaking this ambi- ada. $9.98 (Canadian).--Pierre Morency shares his tious project was to produce "first and foremost a experiencesof a typical June day at the Isle of Orle- field guide, a handy, compactreference for the per- ans, in the St. Lawrence just downstream from Qu6- son who wants to identify and learn something about bec. He begins before dawn, with the singing of the the rocks, landforms, plants and animals of the Grand EasternWood Pewee (Contopusvirens) and Tree Swal- Canyon" (p. 10). The finished product is not, how- low ("Irodoprocnebicolor"), and concludesafter dusk ever, a field guide in the conventional sense. The with the sounds of the Barred Owl (Strix varia) and format, length, and weight of the book, even in pa- Common Nighthawk (Chordeilesminor). Highlighted perback,work againstthe ideals of convenienceand on the disc are recordings of 24 oscines,2 flycatch- compactness.What Whitney has produced, instead, ers, 12 non-passerines(including 2 ducks, 2 hawks, is a concise encylopedia of Grand Canyon natural a rail, a snipe, 2 gulls, a dove, an owl, a nighthawk, history, incorporating a remarkable range of subject and a woodpecker), 2 amphibians, and the eastern matter--something for everyone, literally. chipmunk. The non-technical commentaryby the au- The text is arranged in four major sections.Part I, thor is extensive, covering topics such as the habits, "The Grandest Canyon," comprises 10 chapters of plumage, singing style, and personal impressionsof background information on regional orientation, eachspecies, and comprisesabout 37% of the total 51 plant and animal distribution, human history, hik- min. Coveragefor most speciesis adequate,with as ing, and other contemporary visitor activities and few as 3 songsfor the Common Yellowthroat (Geoth- services.Part II deals with geology (2 chapters),Part lypistrichas) and White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia III is devoted to plants (5 chapters), and Part IV dis- albicollis),to as many as 19 for the Eastern Bluebird cussesanimals (5 chapters). (Sialiasialis). The mixed quality of the recordings to- In attempting to cover a great range of factual ma- gether with some backgroundsounds impart to the terial within a necessarilyfinite space,the obvious listener a more realistic field experience than would problem is maintaining even-handednessin treat- the use of consistentlyhigh-quality recordings,found ment of the various subjects.What works effectively typically in more "instructional" records.One prob- for one area(e.g. a brief, episodicchronology of events able misidentification involves the "percussionist of in the chapter on "The Historical Record") has no the orchestra." He is identified as a Downy Wood- utility of application elsewhere. The result is that pecker (Picoidespubescerts), but according to four oth- some chapters are short on explanatory text and long er recordswe consulted(two produced by D. J. Bor- on lists or identification criteria, while others become ror and two by Cornell's Laboratoryof Ornithology), more didactic, as in the chapters on geology. Of the drumming is 50% too fast, at the rate of 27 strokes/ greater concern to me were some examples of un- second,and is more typical of the Hairy Woodpecker evennessresulting from basicconceptual notions. For (Picoidesvillosus). All but two species [the American instance, in Chapter 10 ("Precautions for Hikers"), 792 Reviews [Auk, Vol. i00 there is a 5-page discussionof venomous animMs, riously doubt the likelihood of the "average" visitor which may well tend to over-emphasize this partic- seeingperegrines, the accipiters,or mostof the owls. ular threat; but nowhere in the text do we find any Further to the point, only three of the woodpecker reference to the feral burro problem, a management speciesshown are listed as "common"; the other six dilemma that has direct impact on hikers as well as are "uncommon" or "rare." Another problem: a great many other visitorsto the canyon.To cite another many of the speciesshown could not be seenwithout example,there is a chapterand severalplates devot- taking a float trip on the river or an extendedtrek ed to the identification of ferns--which is certainly into the inner canyon. worthwhile in and of itself--but other than a plate The mammaldrawings are the leastsatisfactory of depicting five speciesof venomousarthropods, the the lot. Pen-and-ink sketching is evidently not the only insectsdescribed or illustratedare butterflies. author-artist'sbest technique, and some of these bor- As I thumbed through the book, I couldn't help der on the amateurishor are actually misleading(e.g. but admire the author's chutzpah in attempting to the rock squirrel on Plate 63). Many are poorly pro- provide illustrations and/or sketchesfor the entire portioned and posed in a stiff, "taxidermic" style-- gamut of natural history subjects,from fossils to this is especiallytrue of the ungulates.Again, I ques- mammals.Not surprisingly,this effort has met with tion the criteria used for selecting speciesto be illus- mixed success.His best work, in my opinion, is the trated. Despite his statedrationale for not including color plates of plants and butterflies;those deMing any of the bats (too nocturnal and too erratic in with vertebratesare generally less satisfactory,and flight--p. 293), the casualvisitor is much more apt to in some casesrather poorly rendered. see some of these than most of the mammals that are The flowering plantsare convenientlygrouped by shown; I feel that at least two or three of the more primary flower colors,with marginalcolor-coding to common bats should have been included. facilitate ready accessto each group. The various Turning to other major sectionsof the book, the speciesare attractively arranged and, for the most chapterson geology, in particular, are well written part, accuratelydepicted. I was especiallyimpressed and coherent. Whitney has successfullydistilled a by the sectionon cacti;very few other works intend- large body of knowledge down to manageablepro- ed for a general readership have an adequatetreat- portions, and the accompanyingillustrations, includ- ment of this important group of plants. The plates ing thoseof fossils,are well drawn and informative. dealingwith treesand shrubsare adequate, with use- I also liked Chapter 6 on "PrehistoricPeoples," which ful details regarding cones, leaf morphology, and presentsa brief but adequatereview of the former fruits; the silhouettes of generM plant form em- inhabitantsof the canyonalong with someof what ployed here, however, didn't seemall that helpful. is known regarding their cultures. Turning to the illustrations of vertebrates, my There are obviously limits as to what can be in- impressionwas that the reptiles were the most ac- cluded in an interpretive guidebook, but somewhere curately rendered as a group, although there ap- I would like to have seen a discussion on present- peared to be a bias toward selecting the most vividly day (but ongoing) management and administrative colored racesof the lizards. Only four speciesof am- problems, such as the controversyon limiting the phibians are depicted, and for two of these the dis- number of river tours, the problems of water-level tinctive "field guide" featuresare not shown (i.e. the regulation (via Glen Canyon Dam), burro manage- "spade"for the spadefoottoad and the characteristic ment, and the proliferation of visitor-usefacilities on round parotids for the red-spotted toad). On page the rims. 304, the author refers to the relative scarcityof am- Finally, I encountereda number of format or pub- phibians, their nocturnality, and the difficulty of lication problems, not all of which are the author's identifying them in the dark. He should have re- responsibilityby any means.The captionsto the fig- minded the reader that vocMizations are an impor- ureson Plates1 and 2 (dealing with plant community tant aid in distinguishingvarious speciesof frogs types)are obviouslyreversed. Another odd reversal and toads. of standard procedure is found in the printing of the The plates of the higher vertebrates, both birds captionsto all of the plates,wherein scientificnames and mammals,were the most disappointing to me, are printed in conventional type, while common at least in the artistic sense. Connoisseurs of field- namesand descriptionsare done in italics!Confusion guide art will probably find many of the birds ren- is somewhat moderated by a return to the proper dered in a somewhat stilted and disproportionate method in the text chaptersdealing with the biolog- manner. I felt this to be particularly true of the raptor ical taxa. I alsofelt that the arrangementof the plates plate (admittedly,I might have scannedit with a hy- visa vis the accompanyingexplanatory texts was un- percriticM eye). One may Mso questionthe choiceof wieldy; the plates are all grouped together in the the avian speciesdepicted. According to the author center of the book, so that the chaptersdealing with (p. 298) "The speciesshown here are those that an the picturedforms must be soughtelsewhere--main- averagepark visitor is most likely to see," but I se- ly at the backof the book.The two pagesof photos July 1983] Reviews 793 chosento illustrate the chapter on history of the park erences for further reading are included. I fear that area seemedan unimpressive lot, but that may be no the price ($12.50 in paperback, even) may keep it more than my own personal bias. from a large part of the on-site visitor clientele for On the plus side, the author and his publishers whom it is mainly intended, but it should certainly have come up with an attractive addition to the pop- find its way into the library of every Grand Canyon ular literature on the Grand Canyon. The overall in- enthusiast.--JosEPH R. MURPHY. formation content is good, and excellent lists of ref-

ALSO RECEIVED

Capture-recapture and removal methods for sam- $15.00.--This attractive little book is Robin W. Woods' pling closed populations.--Gary C. White, David R. sequelto his larger, highly authoritative "The Birds Anderson, Kenneth P. Burnham, and David L. Otis. of the Falkland Islands"(Anthony Nelson, 1975),now 1982. Los Alamos National Laboratory, LA-8787- out of print. Until April 1982, when war broke out NERP, UC-11. 235 pp., many tables and figures. between Great Britain and Argentina over the Falk- Available from N.T.I.S., U.S. Dept. Commerce, 5287 land Islands, few people had ever heard of the Falk- Port RoyalRoad, Springfield, Virginia 22161.No price lands, much lesstheir birds. As it happened,the war given.--This soft-coveredmanual outlines the basic was fought in the austral fall when penguins and concepts and methods of sampling animal popula- other seabirdswere off their breeding grounds. But tions and is the primer for "Statistical inference from even if the conflict had occurred while the birds were band recovery data--a handbook" (1978. C. Brownie, breeding, little harm to them would have resulted, D. R. Anderson, K. P. Burnham, and D. S. Robson, as practically all hostilities were in EastFalkland, far Resource Publ. No. 131, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Ser- from mostof the colonies,which are mainly on West vice), which only my computer-wizard associatescan Falkland and its outlying smaller islands. understand. As such this manual seems extremely Now that the Falklands are almost a household usefuland clearto me, with chapterson underlying word, Woods' new book, prepared just before the war, assumptions,statistical concepts, capture-recapture could hardly be more timely. Primarily a condensa- and removal methods,density estimations,examples, tion of his earlier book, it covers the 69 speciesof study design, open models, the future, a fortran users' birds "most likely to be seen during the Falkland manual for program capture, and numerous refer- Islands summer." Nearly all of the speciesare illus- ences. An interesting sidelight is photographsand trated with superb photographs by Cindy Buxton, biographies of leaders in this field. This work is in- Annie Price, and the author. An introduction deals valuablein pointing out the many pitfalls in banding briefly with the islands' physiographical features studies,the statisticalmethodology needed, and the (enhanced by an endpapers map), ecology, and the models in need of testing to make banding efforts more significant aspectsof Falklands bird life. Then, worthwhile. I fear that most past and present bird- after a useful habitat table and a checklist, come the banding efforts were a waste of time, other than as accountsof species,each separately and adequately recreation,and especially for estimating populations. treated with comments on identification, relative Several simplistic cartoonsdo not really add to the abundance, and local distribution. presentation although they do provide some relief The book is just the right size (5•4 X 8 inches) to from the numbers,but other figures are extremely be tucked into one's luggage. A quick perusal of the useful in explaining the statisticsinvolved. The text photographswill show why the Falkland Islands are is well organizedand unusually well written for this unique among the archipelagos in the higher lati- genre. Many examplesillustrate the methodologies. tudes of the world's southern oceans for their re- Anyone interested in sampling animal populations markably wide variety of both sea-and land-birds.- in any way mustread carefully this text and heed its OLIN SEWALLPETTINGILL, JR. warnings prior to actually capturing an animal in the field. This volume has been valuable to me, and I suspectit will assistothers, especiallyin designing Orphans from the sea.--JackDenton Scott,pho- studies and in communication with number crunch- tographs by Ozzie Sweet. 1982. New York, G. P. Put- ers. The spine of my volume is already ruined after nam's Sons. 61 pp., numerousblack-and-white pho- only several hours of use.--RALPH W. SCHREIBER. tographs.$10.95.--An ever-increasingnumber of bird rehabilitationcenters appears to be croppingup across the nation. The fact that most such facilities are de- Falkland Islands birds.--Robin W. Woods. 1982. positoriesfor large numbersof injured, sick,and oil- England, Anthony Nelson. 79 pp., 61 photographs covered birds annually servesas further evidence of (56 color, 5 black-and-white), endpapers map. the impactour societyis having on wildlife. The brief 794 Reviews [Auk, Vol. I00 and simply written text of this book will introduce a superficial level despite the complexity of the sub- the inexperienced person to the types of endeavors ject. Because of limited discussion of wildlife re- undertaken by the more professionally run rehab sources(mostly large mammals), inclusion of wild- centers. It is not, however, a "how to" book that will life in the title seemsinappropriate. Overall, the lack provide information for those operating such facili- of a rigorous treatment of the subject(no quantitative ties or desiring to do so. It is primarily a pictorial theory or empirical data) suggestslimited usefulness essayabout the SuncoastSeabird Sanctuary that could even for its intended audience of intermediate-level stimulate support from the general populus. students.--JAME$ R. KARR. Although I recognizethe potentially inctportantrole this type of facility can serve by saving crippled rep- resentatives of endangered or rare species (for ex- Handbuch der V/Jgel Mitteleuropas. Volume 8, ample), I am concernedthat ever-increasingnumbers Parts I and II. Charadriiformes (Part 3).--Urs N. of people are devoting their efforts (both time Glutz von Boltzheim and Kurt M. Bauer. 1982. Wies- and money) to this level of "conservation." Would baden, Akademische Verlagsgesellschaft.1,270 pp., the $50,000 in donations spent annually at this one numerous text figures and maps, one color plate. DM facility to feed pelicansand gulls as well as captive 306.--These two volumes continue the ambitious and speciesprovide more and longer-lasting benefit if it thorough treatment of middle European birds that were spent on habitat acquisitionor habitat improve- characterized earlier volumes of the "handbuch." Part ment?--W.E.S. I of this volume includes accounts of 25 species of skuas,jaegers, and gulls, while part II completes the treatment of the Charadriiformes with accounts for Limicoles. Gangas et Pigeons d'Europe.--Paul 13 tern species and 7 alcids. The species accounts G•roudet. 1982. Paris, Delachaux et Niestl& 240 pp., vary in length, from less than a page for the extinct 31 text figures, 16 black-and-white photographic Great Auk to 87 pagesfor the Black-headedGull. The plates, 16 color plates. Price not given.--In this vol- accounts are thorough and comprehensive. [For an ume, Paul G•roudet continues his serieson European overview of this series,see Mayr's review (1978 Auk birds, covering the shorebird contingent of the Cha- 95: 615).]•J.A.W. radriiformes. Following an introduction that details somebasic features of shorebird biology and life his- tory, species'accounts provide information on syn- Index to illustrations of living things outside onymy and nomenclature, plumages, identification, North America.--Lucile Thompson Munz and Ned- voice, behavior, food habits, habitat, reproduction, ra G. Slauson. 1981. Hamden, Connecticut, Archon migration, relationships to man, distribution, and lit- Books,The Shoe String Press.441 pp. $49.50 (doth).-- erature citations for each of 44 species.The text il- Ever wondered where to find an illustration of some lustrations, by Denis Clavreul, generally show be- obscure plant or animal? Apparently enough folks havioral postures; the color plates, by the late Paul do to justify publication of this volume, which is an Barruel, are done with skill and sensitivity.--J.A.W. index guide to illustrations of over 9,000 speciesof plants and animals from various parts of the world, extracted from 206 books. It is a companion volume Range and wildlife management in the Trop- to Thompson's "Index to illustrations of the natural ics.--H. F. Heady and E. B. Heady. 1982. New York, world" (1977), which dealt with speciesfound only Longmans. 140 pp. $6.95.--In three major sections, in North America. Basic entries are provided under rangelandsare defined and rangeland assessmentand common names, but another index is organized by managementalternatives are described,generally at scientific names.--J.A.W.

DATEOF ISSUE(Vol. I00, No. 3): 30 August 1983