BOOK REVIEWS 337
Book Reviews
Wings of Light, An Anthology for Bird-lovers. Compiled by Garth
Christian. Newnes, 1965. 178 pages. 35/-.
Compiling an anthology of any sort must present many problems, what
to include and what to omit being but two. An anthology for bird-lovers
must have special problems considering the vast literature on birds which
often seems more varied in scope and achievement than are the birds
themselves.
Garth Christian is to be congratulated in his judicious selection for
the present anthology. He has cast his net wide and enmeshed a varied
draught of authors. His choice ranges in time from the Bible to the
Sunday Times of 1963, and in style from John Clare, D. H. Lawrence and
T. H. White to David Lack and Guy Mountfort, or amongst the poets from
William Wordsworth to W. H. Davies. Wings of Light is doubly welcome
in that while it refreshes the memory for many books and poems half-
remembered from the past, it also points the way to some promising
literature as yet unread.
This book is ably illustrated with thirty-one excellent black and white
plates (photographs by Eric Hosking). It is also well indexed.
Alwyne Wheeler.
The Handbook of Foreign Birds in Colour. Volume 1, by A. Rutgers
(English editor K. A. Norris). Blandford Press, 1964. 260 pages,
64 coloured plates. 18/-.
This book sets out to provide a handy reference work for keepers
of foreign birds. This first volume deals with 253 species of small seed,
insect and fruit-eating birds, as well as a few nectar feeders. It embraces
many tropical finches and exotic birds such as Tanagers, Sun-birds,
Mynahs, Drongos, Bulbuls and Barbets. If you have always longed to keep
a Toucan, this is the book with complete instructions on their require-
ments.
The detailed instructions on bird care in aviaries and cages make this
book invaluable to the beginner. The colour plates and the text on so
many species are extremely useful as an introduction to bird keeping.
If all cage birds were kept in the conditions prescribed by the author,
I, for one, would feel far happier about caged birds.
A promised second volume on Pheasants, Quails, Ducks, Parrots and
Doves should complete the coverage of the subject.
Alwyne Wheeler.
Find its Name Series: Volume 1. Common Wild Flowers and Fruits.
By G. A. Perry and M. D. Hirons. Blandford Press, 1965. 143 pages.
12/6.
As a naturalist I welcome any new book on natural history. This one
is intended by the authors as a children's guide to common plants but I feel
that a wider age range could be included, as there are many adults who