I was leafing through David Lack's seminal book " Population Studies of Birds" this morning, and turned to the list of references at the back ...and there was some interesting stuff to be found ... here we go then ...
Serventy, D.L. Egg-laying timetable of the Slender-billed Shearwater. Crumbs ... I didn't know that seabirds were so well organised ... or literate. But we find out more things every day don't we ? Mackenzie, N. Low wages and large families. And there we go again ... I had no idea that birds got paid. I suppose they want to build up a nest-egg ... ho-ho. Keith, L.B. Wildlife's Ten-Year Cycle. Flummoxed once more .... the Tour de France is one thing .. but the idea that various species bike around their area for 10 years seems a bit odd. Gudmundsson, F. Some reflections on Ptarmigan cycles in Iceland. Back to bloody cycling again ... I didn't even know that there were specially adapted bikes for different species of birds ... but obviously there are. Blimey . Grinnel, J. Presence and absence of animals. That one must have flown off the shelves !! What a gripping title. It covers the lot in one sweeping sentence ! The only book you'll ever need really. Carrick, R and Dunnet, G.M. Fact and fiction on the breeding of the Wandering Albatross. I hope they made it quite clear which was which. Caughley, G. The Cape Crozier Emperor Penguin rookery. I see ... so the penguins are running a rookery ..presumably so they can eat the rooks during the harsh winter season. OK. Bruns, H. The economic importance of birds in forests. Er ... what ? Wagner, H.O. Variation in clutch size at different latitudes. Aha ! Something useful at last. If you're lost deep in the jungle, or at sea, you can find a nest, and count the eggs, and then you consult the tables in Wagner's book, and Hey Presto !! you've sorted out your latitude. Brilliant. I'm sending off for it straight away. Here's the most mysterious paper though ... Taylor, T.H.C. The Biological control of an Insect in Fiji. Well, that takes the biscuit. I suppose it did well, because every insectologist would have to buy it to see if it was his/her insect. Most of them would be disappointed, but they couldn't risk missing out ( FOMO in action). I wonder where that insect is now ?? If you know, please let me know at once at [email protected] By the way, the book itself is a gripping read .. but the index is dead boring. I bet I could have livened it up a bit. Here's a few extracts to give you the flavour .. don't expect to be entertained ... Australian families, 290 Box and Cox, 268 Bump, G, 9 Cramp, S. 179 death-rate, see mortality, duck, 282 Fuggles-Couchman, N.R., 9, 151 Klomp, H. 294 monotely,307 Pangloss's theorem, 300 pines, tits in, 54-57, 80-96 Semenov-Tyan-Shanskii, O.I., 193, 206 shooting, effects of, 188,198, 205, 276 snail, 132 Szijj., 9,213,215,217 termite, 154, 157, 158, 165 tuberculosis, 188 Voous, K.H. 98,193,253 weevil, 281 Zink, G. 9, 213, 217-21, 225, 229 I was very tempted just to pick out all the silly names, but I managed to hold back a little. I'm still a bit worried about that "Insect in Fiji" though.
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AuthorThat's the author up there ... I was young and sprightly then. Archives
October 2022
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