A DIARY OF BIRD LORE

Dominion, Volume 29, Issue 220, 13 June 1936, Page 25

A DIARY OF BIRD LORE

“A Bird Diary,” by Godfrey Harrison (London: Dent). This 1 little book is a record of pleasure experienced, and if in the telling some little contribution is made to science it is of the kind that results from close and keenly-interested observation. Scientific names are conspicuous by their absence, as is also the outlook of the collector. The author, often accompanied by his wife, watched large numbers and various kinds of birds for long periods and jotted down the observations made while still fresh in his memory. The notes l refer to questions answered and mistakes corrected after well-known authorities had been consulted. The book Is actually a diary written for the author’s own use and satisfaction, and, as such, possesses a freshness not always found in similar works intended primarily for publication. Much of the observation was done from a car, as it was found that many birds quickly lost their fear of the large stationary object, approached within a short distance and were unconcernedly about their usual activities. Many of the notes are concerned with water-birds, divers, redshank, plover, dunlin, oyster-catchers, wild geese and ducks, and a host of others. An interested New Zealand will regret that many of the names arc unfamiliar in this part of the world, and a certain thrill is experienced when a godwit is recognised here and there. The notes taken among the woods aud hedges hold the same delightful note of absorbed and wondering interest. A. ucst? No, there was nothing there but long grass. Another look, and under my nose appeared a little deep cup woven among the grass stems, lightly made of dry grasses and holding six eggs, long and white, speckled with black . . . nnd then in the hedge another tiny cup of bents, this time among brambles, two feet from the ground and lined with a little horsehair. .... The three eggs were smaller and rounder than the others with large paint spots. Psychological reflection on certain strange behaviour in the bird world suggests au illimitable field for observer and thinker. Woodcuts by Robert Glbbings supply delightful and informative illustration of the text.