Abstract
Of the series of four volumes be published under the title of “Animal Life: an Evolutionary Natural History,” the editor, Mr. Pycraft, has himself contributed that on birds. The reader will at once be struck by two facts, first, that the subject is treated from the point of view of the evolutionist, as opposed to that of the systematist, and, secondly, that the author is never satisfied until he has inquired into, and, if possible, explained, the various phenomena that meet the eye of the ornithologist. As he tells us in his preface, and as we gather from the excellent introduction by Sir Ray Lankester, which practically summarises the whole work, the study of birds is here presented as one of living organisms, moulded in part by an inherent constitution, and in part by the struggle for existence.
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A History of Birds 1 . Nature 84, 367–368 (1910). https://doi.org/10.1038/084367a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/084367a0