Recent Literature

122 RecentLiterature ['Auk L Jan. RECENT LITERATURE Audubon's'Birds of America,' 1941.--The successof the 1937 edition of Audubon's platesin a singlevolume which sold for $12.50,was so far beyondexpectations, that the publishersnow bring out this new editionx at a price that will bc cvcn more popular. The chief differenceis, however,that only the 435 platesof the original elephant-folioset arc now reproduced,while the 65 additionalplates of the previousvolume arc omitted. The frontispieceshows the fine Cruickshank portrait of Audubon,and there is the sameintroductory Preface by William Vogt. The four linesof text at the bottomof eachplate, in doublecolumn, wcrc pre- pared by the sameauthor and give in briefestform the range,habitat, identifica- tion marks,voice, breeding and food habits, or in certain casesspecial notes. At the back of the volumeis a list of the original legendsto the plates together with an index of the commonnames of the speciesshown. Printed from the same set of plates used in the previousedition, the vivid figuresarc in the main well reproduced,except that as in all such color work, therearc occasionalinstances where the colorssccm too red or toopale or in some other way arc not quite as they should be. But it must bc rememberedtoo, that the originalsarc not maps of the birds' colorsbut rather show the color valuesas they appearedto the artist'scyc. The avidity with which the public absorbedthe prcv/ous edition indicates the wide desire for a set of the famous platesat a moderateprice. This new volumenow makesthem available to nearly all who arc interested in Audubon and his work.--G. M. ALLEN. 'FactorsAffecting the GeneralStatus of Wild Geeseand Wild Duck.'--Although this report• is volumeone of the InternationalWildfowl Inquiry, volume two has already bccn published and reviewed in 'The Auk,' 57: 583-584, 1940, to which the readeris referredfor informationon background.The inquiry is Europeanin scope,and indeedthe two reportsso far issuedarc the work of an Englishcom- mittee;the North Americanreferences arc entirelyincidental. Curiously enough, the wholeproject seems to have bccnset in motionby "the startlingnews . that the United Statesof Americahad practicallylimited the shootingof wild duck to one month in the year, [which] pointed to a grave state of affairs." On the showingof the presentreport, and makingduc allowance for the profound differencesin huntingmethods and pressureson the two continents,it maybc wonderedwhether waterfowl conditions arc not quiteas unfavorable in Europeas in North America,and muchless susceptible of quick improvement. Therearc eight separate papers in thiscollection, dealing with asmany differ- ent topicsand eachprepared by a differentauthor or groupof authors.The generaleffect is to outlinethe morepressing aspects of the problem,summarize cxlstinginformation, and thusprepare the way for both actionand further de- tailedinvestigation. The firstsection is introductory,and listsnine factorswhich have operatedin recentyears to decreaseEuropean waterfowl. At least five of thesearc of world-wideimportancc:--incrcascd facilities of travel, commercializa- tionattendant on improvedmethods of coldstorage, increased penetration of the • Audubon,John James. The Birdsof Americawith a Forewordand descriptive Captions by WilliamVogt. Large8vo, xxvi pp., 436 pls., •94•; The MacmillanCo., New York City. Price $4.95. a InternationalWildfowl Inquiry / Volume I / FactorsAffecting the General Statusof Wild Geeseand Wild Duck/ 8vo,x -• •a3 pp., aa figs.and maps, 1O4•; Cambridge University Press, The Macmillan Co., New York City. Price $•.•5. Vol.•9'] RecentLiterature 123 •94:• .• far North by man,ill-considered reclamation of swamp-land,and intensiveagri- cultural methods. A seriesof reportson breedingconditions in the North coversGreenland, Iceland,Spitsbergen and NorwegianLapland. NortheastGreenland appears to be the great reservoirof supplyfor thoseBrant, BarnacleGeese, and Pink-looted Geesewhich winter in the British Isles, and becauseof its extreme inaccessibility is rated as safe "for many yearsto come." In Iceland the breedingPinkfeet are iaeaflyextirpated as a resultof unrestrainedegging, and numerous species of ducks are severelyreduced by localagricultural practises. In Spitsbergen,Eiders, Barna- cles,Brant, and Pinkfeetare levied upon mercilesslyby sealersand egg-hunters from Norway;the Eiderscan standit, but the geeseand particularlyBrant, are in a precariousposition. Lapland is consideredsatisfactory. A well-balancedpaper on the statusand significancefor waterfowlof certain aquaticplants of the generaZostera, Ruppia, Potamogeton, Zannichellia, Ulva, and Enteromorphasupplies background information for the Englishworker, but hasnothing not alreadyfamiliar to the American.A surveyof British'decoys' (thename used for a systemof nettingwild ducksin largewater-traps) indicates that theyare dyingout rapidly,at leaston a commercialscale, with the total averagecatch now runningto only about12,000 per year. The decoysystem in Holland,on the contrary,is powerfullyintrenched and is estimatedto takeat least a million ducksa year--possiblyone and one-halfmillion. The business hasgone on for centuries,however. A surveyof punt-gunningin the BritishIsles tendsto showthat this much-criticizedmethod of taking waterfowlis not unduly harmfulper se--thataverage daily and yearlybags are very muchsmaller than usuallyclaimed by opponentsof the practise.Punt-gunning having long since fadedfrom the Americanscene, the argumentneed not be further reported. Two paperson the resultsof duck-bandingin Englandand on the Continent,with excellentmaps showing distribution of recoveries,are chieflyof interestto the English waterfowl-manager.The material on which they are based does not approachAmerican data for quantity or coverage,and no new principlesare adduced. The eighth paper,on "dose time," is certainto shockthe Americanreader quite as much as Europeanornithologists may have been dismayedby a one- month open seasonin the United States. It appearsthat the most recentlegisla- tion in the British Isles providesa closedseason from February 1 to August zx, exceptthat on tidal shoresshooting may be continuedby local ordinanceuntil February20. Sale of waterfowlis permitted betweenAugust 11 and February28. Importationis legal betweenAugust 11 and February1. Further, a carefulcom- pilation of the regulationsfor other Europeancountries shows the shootingseason starting June x in Czechoslovakia,July 1 in Austria, July 15 in Rumania and Belgium, July 16 in Germany,July 18 in France,August 2 in Holland; closing March 31 in France and Germany,April 15 in Austria, Belgium and Bulgaria and May •5• in Poland. Summingup the book as a whole, it representsan intelligent start on problems which were attacked on this continent at least twenty-five years ago. The re- viewer'sprincipal reaction is a renewedand grateful comprehensionof the advan- tageswhich North Americanshave at hand in the fight to save waterfowl. On this side, we see Americansand Canadiansworking harmoniouslyfor the pro- tectionof a stockof waterfowlwhose vast range lies almostwholly within the 12' RecentLiterature L[-Jan.Auk political control of two friendly governments.In England on the contrary,an attemptto improvethe statusof waterfowlis handicappedat onceby the fact that breedingranges and migrationroutes lie in or overGreenland, Iceland, Spits- bergen,at leastseven existing or formerScandinavian and Baltic countries,and threeor moresouthern European countries, the governmentsof all but Greenland, Iceland,and Russiabeing at presenthostile, captive, or in exile. The comparison is thought-provokingfar beyondthe realm of ornithology.-JosEPI•A. HAaA•t. Ridgwayand Friedmann's'Birds of North and Middle America'Part 9.--Twenty- two yearshave elapsed since the publication,in June 1919,of Part 8 of thisgreat systematicwork on North Americanbirds. Dr. Friedmann,as Ridgway'ssucces- sor, now givesus Part 9, containinga concisereview • of the Gruiformesfound from Panama to the arctic regions,and in his brief Introduction tells us that the tenth part, containingthe Galliformes,is in preparation. On the death of Robert Ridgway, the late Dr. Charles W. Richmond assembledall available manuscriptnotes of Ridgway,which covereddiagnoses of generaand highergroups as well as partial synonymiesfor many speciesand subspecies.Wherever possible these have been utilized by Dr. Frledmann who has modestlydesired that the continuation of the work should as far as possiblebe Ridgway's. Nevertheless it has been a task of magnitude to coordinate all this material, to bring the literary referencesto date, and to make the final parts reflect the state of current knowledge. In the intervening years four volumes of Peters's'Check List of Birds of the World' have appeared,which, beginningwith the 'lower' groups and proceeding to the 'higher' forms, treat them therefore in reverse order from Ridgwaywhose first part commenceswith the Fringillidae. In the presentPart 9, Dr. Friedmannhas accordinglyarranged the families,genera and speciesto con- form with Peters's treatment in order that the two works shall offer the least amount of difficulty in following them. In all, seventy-twospecies and subspeciesare formally treated, representing five families; in addition a number of allied extra-limital forms are included in the keys to facilitate comparisons.The full diagnosesof order, families, generaand specieswith their raceswill be of great value to all systematistsas well as to others wishing in

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