Welsh Journals

The Birdwatchers' Second Quiz and Puzzle Book by Dr. J. T. R. Sharrocks, 59 Curlew Crescent, Bedford, with decorations by Robert Gillmor, proves the popularity of the first book, published in November 1975 and re-printed four months later. A Guide to Birdwatching in Denmark: Jeremy Sanders & Karin Berg: £ 1.70 by post from J. Tidy, 9 Freewaters Close, Ickleford, Hitchin, Herts., is what the title says, with plenty of sketch maps and sketches. Wild Animals in the Garden: Heather Angel is one of the latest batch from Jarrold Colour Publications, Norwich. Others include Birds in Our Gardens, Life of Our Seas, Popular British Freshwater Fish, and Birds of the Channel Islands A new series, the Jarrold Collectors' Series, introduces Let's Collect British Gemstones by Sam Weller, 40p. D.M. The Adas of Breeding Birds In Britain and Ireland: compiled by J. T. R. Sharrock: British Trust for Ornithology and Irish Wildbird Conservancy: £ 9.00. As one of the thousands of observers who took part in the field-work necessary for the compilation of this indispensible volume I am delighted to report that it exceeds all expectations. The production itself is attractive. The Stonechat together with its distribution map enhance the dust cover, which will please people in Wales where the bird is so well known. The binding, printing, illustrations and maps are all excellent. In the Foreword, James Ferguson Lees, Chairman of the Atlas Working Group, deals with the history of biological mapping projects. He suggests that this Atlas should be the first of a series at 5 years intervals and points out that ever since 1951 several species have considerably changed in status: the spread of the Hen Harrier, the near extinction of Wrynecks and the arrival of Collared Doves in Britain are all quite recent events. The Introduction by J. T. R. Sharrock deals with the methods used in fieldwork and mapping and leads into the 'meat' of the production. Pages 28-444 cover the 208 breeding species. A delightful vignette for each species is followed by a text describing habit and habitat, previously recorded range and numerical changes; species Atlas statistics are covered and references are given. On the facing page the appropriate map appears. The two pages per species present a wealth of information and if an additional £ 1.50 is invested for translucent overlays (12 in number covering such aspects as rainfall, lowland, chalk, limestone, western sessile oak wood and others) many happy hours of speculative armchair ornithology lie ahead. An additional 21 species are dealt with, enjoying lesser texts with smaller maps, and historical distributions are given for a few species previously well surveyed. A noble concept and presentation, a mine of information and an indispensable base for future work. A Checklist of the Birds of the World: compiled by Edward S. Gruson: Collins: £ 3.95. The Introduction declares this book as one for 'listers' and 'tickers' absolutely true, but as the work is "A Complete Record of the