The Birds of Tropical West Africa

Abstract

THE publication of Mr. Bannerman's six-volume work on West African birds has been suspended midway for nearly three years, owing to financial exigencies of the times which have affected the Colonial Govern -ments supporting it. Happily, these difficulties have now been surmounted, and with the appearance of this volume there is prospect of the early completion of a valuable record which should place the ornithological study of the region in a strong position. The book, it may be repeated, admirably serves the double purpose of a summary of existing knowledge and an aid to further investigation. In the latter respect, great pains have been taken to assist the observer in identification. As well as the detailed description of each form, there is at the beginning of the volume an illustrated key to the families and genera, and there is also for each family a further key to the genera and species. This useful feature was included in the earlier volumes, but it is especially welcome now that Mr. Bannerman is dealing with the huge and difficult order Passeres, the treatment of which will occupy the whole of the second half of his great work. In addition to text figures, the fourteen coloured plates beautifully depict sixty-five different species.