THE WILD DANUHE: PORTRAIT OF A RIVER

The account of two summer expeditions into Bulgaria, and Hungary, to study the lower, the middle reaches of the Danube, followed from the Black Sea to Budapest; it is attractively seconded by profuse photographs by Eric Hoskins. The team set out to study the wild life of the region, and in particular that of birds, but they also met and conversed along the way with people under and of the Communist regime. The search for birds and their patient photographic stalking is vividly evidenced in the nest-pictures of the Lesser Spotted Eagle (taken from a specially constructed pylon) and numerous other species of high interest to the bird lover. While the opportunity to see tourist sights in remote spots such as the Rila. Monastery, or the hora chain-dance of the Bulgarian peasants, is appreciated, this remains primarily a book for avid aviary observers. The illustrations are especially exciting, in their close approach to rare species