92 RAPTOR RESEARCH Vol. 16, No. 3

Literature Cited Albuquerque,J. L. B. 1978.Contribuicao ao conhecimentode Falcoperegrinus na America do Sul.Rev. Bra- sil. Biol., 38:727-737. Emery,K. O. 1941.Transportations of rock particles by seamammals. I. Sediment.Petrol. 11:92-93. Fox,N. 1976.Rangle. Raptor Research 10:61-64. Jorgsen,C. B. 1977.Nutrition. pp. 16-54in Gordon,M.S. (ed) physiology, principles and adaptations Third Ed. Macmillan PubIs. New York.

BOOK REVIEWS

Hawksin Focus.Jack and LindsayCupper. 1981. Jacklin Enterprises, Mildura, Austra- lia. 208 pp, 315 photos,26 maps.$29.50 U.S. (obtainablethrough Jacklin Enterprises, P.O.Box 348, Merbein, Vict. 4505,Australia, plus postage, approx. $2.00). This is a delightfullywritten book,especially for one familiar with Australia.As I readabout the duststorm with fiercehot windsapproaching the authorsas they photo- graphedfrom a tower,the all too vivid recollectionof my experiencein the maliceof Victoriawith dustso thick in the air it couldbe cut, andhigh winds of temperaturesex- ceeding100øF, came to my mind.My experiencewas exciting and I wasgripped with nostalgiaas I readabout theirs. By the sametoken, the one minorcomplaint or draw- back! forrodwith the bookis the sometimeslengthy discussions of the authors'trials, tribulationsand experiences,but whichreally had nothingto do with raptors.It is by design,however, that the authorsdescribe their feelingsabout their work and their ad- venturesso that the readermay visitall 24 speciesof diurnalraptors of Australiavicari- ously.For eachspecies photographs show a normalegg clutch, adults at the nestwith yotmg,the adult perched,a in flight, and generallya habitatview. In a random sampleof 5 speciesthere were on average13 photographsper species(range 6-20). Anyonewho hastried to climb 20-30 metersup a eucalyptustree knowshow diffi- cult theyare to negotiateand accordinglythe photoswere takenfrom a blind located on top of a metaltower erected by the nesttree. The onlynests not shownto be in trees were oneof an Osprey(Pandion haliaetus) and oneWhite-Bellied Sea-Eagle (Haliaeetus leucogaster)on rockypinnacles and thoseof the MarshHarrier (Circusaeruginosus) on the grotrod.Australia has someincredibly interesting raptors, notable are the Letter- WingedKite (Elanusscriptus) which, along with the Hawk (Machaerhamphusal- cinus)of Africaand SoutheastAsia, is a nocturnallyhtmting "diurnal" raptor and the SpottedHarrier (Circus assimilis), the onlytree nestingmember of the genus. The authorsmade someexciting observations from the blind. They saw an adult breedingAustralian Kestrel (Falco cenchroides) fly to and feed youngBlack Falcons (Falcosubniger) that weregiving food begging calls in their nest.This smacks of the ob- servationsof Ratcliffe(British Bird 56:457, 1962) where kestrelswere raisedby per- egrines(Falco peregrinus). They watcheda femaleBrown Falcon (Falco berigara) re- moveone of her dead chicksfrom a nestjust as shedid remaindersof food not eaten. Removalof uneatenfood is an interestingbehavior in itselfespecially if oneis familiar with the lack of nestcleaning so commonin otherlarge falcons, such as the peregrine, whereeven dead young remain in their nestsif not cannibalizedby sibs.Some of their recordingsattest to the valueof observationsfrom blinds.As furthertestimony to the valueof studiesfrom blinds, I am remindedof a recentconversation with my colleague William Maderwhere, in checkingfood remains in nestsof a SouthAmerican hawk, no remainsof eelswere found(N -- 160 remains)but basedon observationsfrom a blind at Fall 1982 Book Review 93 oneof the samenests previously checked, 45% of the foodbrought in (42%by biomass) werefresh water eels; items totally missed by othermeans of foodstudies. Three of the photographicstudies were of particularinterest to me. First, photo- graphsof the Grey Falcon(Falco hypoleucus), an uncommonfalcon of the drier partsof Australia,are the first to havebeen publishedshowing adults at the nestas far as I can determine. Second is the remarkable documentation of the Black-Breasted l•uzzard (Hamirostramelanosternon), a type of kite, raisinga broodof kestrels.Apparently the buzzardsfed on youngkestrels and somebrought to the nestas food were not killed; as the kestrelsgave food beggingcalls the buzzardresponded with sterotypicappropri- atenessand did sountil the youngkestrels were grownand fledged.Lastly, is the record of the naturalhybrid between two species,the white phaseof the (Ac- cipiternovaehollandiae) and the Brown Goshawk( fasciatus). Pictures I saw elsewhereof the first adult plumageof the hybrid offspringwere not unlike the grey phaseof the Grey Goshawkand it is indeedunfortunate the Cuppersdid not includea pictureof the moltedbird in their book.Of interestis that pair wasnot at the periphery of the rangeof either specieswhere one might expecthybridization to occurand the pairbond lasted more than one year. They statethat the BrownFalcon was recordedbuilding its own nest.I haveheard the samething from Australianfalconophiles but I sawno evidencethat unequivocally convincedme that the speciesdoes build a nest.If they do, theyare the onlyone of 36 speciesof Falcoto do so.Unfortunately the Cupperswere unableto documentthis on film. Had they,it wouldhave been a significantcontribution to our knowledgeof this somewhatdifferent Falco species and indeed Falco in general. The casualnessof not only the humorbut the descriptivestatements in the book re- flectsthe directnessand at the sametime subtlenesstypical of Australians.For example, of the BlackKite (Milvusmigrans) it wassaid "unlike most other young they did notback to the edgeof the nestto deftcate.Instead they lowered their head,raised their rear-endsand eiectedhowitzer-like from the cup of the nest."They vividly described the incrediblerapidity that soils in the interiorgum up andbecome slick with the slight- estmoisture. As they returnedfrom photographingBlack Falcons they drovedown one wet track where"it lookedlike a squadronof tankshad been holdingmaneuvers on it. With morethan a modicumof luck, coupledwith the expertiseacquired through a life- time of drivingon out back trackswe managedto keep mobilemost of the time, al- thoughwe weren'talways facing in a homewarddirection." I thoroughlyenioyed the booknot onlyfor its readability,but for the biologicalobser- vationsshared. Most of all, are their magnificentphotographs. Once havingread the book,it is impossiblenot to graspthe spectrumof opportunityin studyingthe remark- ablearray of Australianraptors. C. M. White