BIRDS, BEASTS AND FISHES OF N.Z.

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31772, 31 August 1968, Page 4

BIRDS, BEASTS AND FISHES OF N.Z.

Animals of New Zealand. By Sheila Natusch. Whitcombe and Tombs. 342 pp. Illustrated with Glossary and Index. Butterflies and Common Moths of New Zealand. By D. E. Gaskin. Whitcombe and Tombs. 191 pp. Appendix, Bibliography and Index.

Marine Fishes of New Zealand. By Erie Heath and John M. Moreland. A. H. and A. W. Reed. Full Colour Plates. 55 op. and Index. Game Animals In New Zealand. By Gordon Roberta, A. H. and A. W. Reed. 112 pp, 110 pp. Illustrated, Appendix. Know Your New Zealand Birds. By K. E. Westerskov. 143 pp. Illustrated, Index.

New Zealand Farm Pests in Colour. Text by Alan Lowe. Illustration* bv Eric Heath. 53 pp. Illustrations in colour. In “Animals of New Zealand” Sheila Natusch ventures on the formidable task of giving in a modestly-sized volume a complete coverage of our native animals. Miss Natusch has succeeded in pro-

ducing not merely an extremely informative book, but a most readable one. She sets her level below textbook standard (she says In the preface that the book is “hardly solemn enough” to be called a textbook). Be that as it may, the reader has in this book the work of a person keenly observant of living creatures, whose curiosity has led her to exhaustive study about them. The method is to deal with animals in their family groups, to give a brief description of each species, and to suggest further reading. Thus, a book chiefly designed for schools and the general public is both greatly informative in itself and an introduction to specialised study. "Butterflies and Common Moths of New Zealand" by D. E. Gaskin is aimed at the amateur student of New Zealand Lepidoptera. The writer explains that butterflies are poorly represented in New Zealand, only 18 specimens having been recorded, but the moths exceed 1500. The author has reduced this number to about 180 of the most familiar species. Advice on equipment, mounting, and identifying is given concisely and clearly by Mr Gaskin, who is a lecturer in zoology at

Massey University. There are four colour plates, and 20 black and white plates.

“Marine Fishes of New Zealand,” designed and illustrated by Eric Heath, with a text by John M. Moreland, is a simple and reliable reference book for identifying the seafish that abound in this country’s coastal waters. There is an illustration in colour of each specimen, and on the accompanying page are descriptions of its appearance, its Maori names, where it is to be caught and the method to be used.

“Game Animals in New Zealand,” by Gordon Roberts, is for the wildlife enthusiast, the hunter, the student, and especially for the photographer because the book is a veritable feast of wildlife photography in colour. The text will be useful to people who make the mountains, bush and hills their playground, but everyone will enjoy the pictures of deer, wapiti, thar, wild pig, goats, captured after much patient stalking, in their native surrounding, by the camera of Mr Roberts, who has indeed done justice to an excellent gallery of wild animals. “Know Your New Zealand Birds,” by K. E. Westerskov,

is a small book that contains a very great deal. It is primarily a pocket guide to help identification on birds in the field, and in this it should succeed. The information provided is sharp and to the point and as comprehensive as can be expected in a field guide; moreover, the information is easily found. The text is supplemented by excellent illustrations, 75 of them photographs all taken by the author (who is associate professor of zoology at Otego University), and 16 superb colour plates from “Buller’s Birds of New Zealand.” In an introduction to “New Zealand Farm Pests in Colour,” the former DirectorGeneral of Agriculture, Mr D. N. R. Webb, says that it has been estimated that about 10 grubs per square foot depress pasture production by about the amount that would feed one ewe. Thus, cheeking infestations of insects which compete with livestock for pastures obviously is essential to efficient farming. This little book will help farmers and horticulturists readily to identify insect pests and, from identification, to go on to practice proper control measures.