By JAMES C. GREENWAY, Jnr. Illustrated by D. M. REID-HENRY. (Special Publication No. 13, American Committee for International Wild Life Protection, New York, 1958). 518 pages; a coloured frontispiece and 86 ink drawings; maps and diagrams. THIS IS A DISPASSIONATE BOOK, but it loses no effect through the almost completely factual treatment of its subjects. Mr. Greenway has chosen as his part that of a chronicler; that his book will succeed in doing more than merely cataloguing the losses to world avifauna is mainly due to the unimpeded view that such a treatment allows of the birds that are gone for ever and those likely to follow them. The book is divided into an introduction and summary of the species included, a section on the geography of extinction, separate accounts of all extinct and vanishing forms, a full bibliography, and an appendix listing the museums which contain remains of extinct birds. The professional ornithologist and students of natural history will welcome the ease of reference that the book affords and, if they cannot find all the details that they may wish, the many footnotes and references included will cut down the time of their search for them elsewhere. For the lay reader, the chapter on the geography of extinction will be the most readable, but, if he needs encouragement, the illustrations will lead him on through the species section. Mr. Reid-Henry's style is at times meticulous but always very pleasing. Few living ornithologists will be able to comment on
Volume:
Issue 3
