WATERSIDE CREATURES. By Frances Pitt. (Allen and Unwin. 10s. 6d.)
Miss FRANCES PITT, whose work will be familiar to readers of the Spectator, has written sixteen charming chapters descriptive
of the haunts and habits of our waterside birds and animals. She gives us, first of all, some intimate glimpses of the " home. life " of the kingfisher. Then there is a graphic account of some characteristic fights between moorhens, whose strong sense of ownership, of territorial rights, leads to constant friction between rival pairs in the spring. Other chapters deal with some of the lesser known birds of the Orkneys and Shetlands, in- cluding the delightfully comic " tysties " of the Black Guille- mot Island. But there is, perhaps, nothing more fascinating in Miss Pitt's volume than her humorous account of the training and exploits of " Moses " and " Aaron," two otter cubs which she adopted as domestic pets, and which grew up to be not only tame and affectionate companions, but to show intelligence almost equal to a dog's. With its fifty-four exquisite photographs, taken by the author herself, often at the cost of great ingenuity and patience, Miss Pitt's book offers a rare feast of good things to the Nature lover.
Previous page
