482 Recently published Ornithological Works. 
52. Beebe on ‘ The Bird 
|The Bird, its Form and Function. By C. William Beebe. With over 
three hundred and seventy illustrations, chiefly photographed from life 
by the Author. Westminster: Constable & Co., Ltd., 1907. Price 
14s. net. | 
Many of our readers are, no doubt, acquainted with 
Mr. Beebe’s attractive account of his expedition to Mexico 
in search of birds in 1903-4, entitled ‘Two Bird-lovers in 
Mexico’*. We have now before us another volume, not less 
interesting to the Ornithologist, but more severe in character, 
in which the author deals with his favourite subject as a 
whole, under the simple designation of ‘The Bird,’ calling 
it “an untechnical study of the bird in the abstract.” 
Mr. Beebe intends his book as an invitation “ for each to 
observe for himself the marvellously fascinating drama of 
evolution : to pass on from the nature-stories of idealised 
composite animals to the consideration of the evolution of 
all life; and to the tales of time and truth which have been 
patiently gleaned by the life-long labours of thousands of 
students.” ‘his is perhaps rather “ tall writing,” but our 
author explains ‘the Bird’ and all that relates to it in a 
series of simply written essays, which anyone can understand, 
and illustrates his statements by a large number of photo- 
graphic text-figures, many of which are excellent, though 
some might be improved upon. 
Mr. Beebe first discusses the extinct species of former geo- 
logical epochs, as everyone interested in Ornithology should 
know something about the extraordinary forms of bird-lite 
that existed in past ages. But he passes on quickly to the 
birds of the present day and describes their feathers, frame- 
work, organs of nutrition, muscles, and nerves in a series of 
chapters which shew at once that he is master of every part 
of his subject. This is, indeed, what we might have expected, 
for the author is not only an experienced student of Ornith- 
ology, who has devoted his life to the subject, but is also 
head of the bird-department in the famous Zoological Park 
of New York. 
* See ‘Ibis,’ 1906, p. 580. 
