Mr. Beeb*’s Latest Work. 
aE Bird; its Form and Function,” by C. 
im Beebe, Curator of Ornithology of the 
York Zoological Park and author of “The 
i of the Sun” and “Two Bird Lovers in 
: ;o,” is one of the most valuable additions 
; literature of natural history that has been 
1 during the present year. Mr. Beebe says 
students too often kill a bird, label it, and 
-ve it in a collection; try to find some char- 
stic by which it can be named, then search 
till another species; observe its habits, the 
i ship and nest-building and memorize its 
but few give sufficient thought to the bird 
, It is to bridge this gap that this book is 
led; an untechnical study of the bird in the 
ict. In his chapter on ancestors Mr. Beebe 
out the fact that so many of the birds of 
istoric times possessed teeth, and he intro- 
evidence showing the common origin of 
is and birds and follows the changes that 
place through the ages, comparing, for an 
pie, the lower jaws of the ichthyornis and 
lligator. His chapter on feathers is un- 
jly interesting and instructive, as the func- 
and growth are described and illustrated 
•ery step. Beautiful half-tones show the 
:j sity for moulting in birds that, through 
and environment, find their feathers fray- 
; .nd wearing rapidly; thus retarding their 
In his chapter on the frame work of the 
there is a composite picture of a common 
ir intended to show the probability of an- 
; -s possessing strong powers of flight In- 
j ing comparisons are found in other pictures, 
ng the white-throated sparrow, a small bird 
: i has, however, fourteen neck vertebrae, and 
, iraffe with but seven neck bones; the simi- 
j between the skeletons of a condor’s wing 
i i man’s arm, and between the legs of the 
. h and man. There is not a dry oaragraph 
a book, in which it differs materially from 
natural history works, while the illustra- 
are of the highest order, their character 
ng the immense amount of labor devoted 
ustrate every step treated by the author, 
book consists of 496 pages, and there are 
; 370 illustrations, nearly all photographs 
' life by Mr. Beebe. Published by Henry 
& Co., New York, through whose courtesy 
‘i e enabled to reproduce two of the illustra- 
Followed by Weasels. 
‘ ton, Mass., April 18.— Editor Forest and 
■[ >n: The following extract from quite an 
sting book may be of interest to our friends. 
1 "From My Life as an Angler,” by William 
• erson, published in London, in 1879: 
j xnit this time, while rambling in the pic- 
|ue lane leading from Merrington to Windle- 
j with two other boys, an adventure occurred 
gently startling to two little fellows from nine 
L years old. We were busily engaged in 
: ig wild strawberries which clustered in the 
1 rows, when we saw at about a hundred 
distance a pack of at least twenty weasels 
np - from hedge to hedge and evidently scent- 
ur footsteps. It flashed upon us that we 
being hunted. So springing over the nearest 
we ran across a pasture field and stand- 
• pon the further bank, looked back toward 
ssailants. To our dismay we saw the whole 
with noses to the ground steadily tracking 
1 Hirse. The word was given, ‘Run, run !’ and 
s scampered across another field to take up 
1 osition on another hedge. Still the pursuit 
. , r oing on and the creatures were evidently 
I 'K upon us, so with a wild shout we fled 
| V1 uage, which happily for us was not far 
off. I have frequently heard of persons being 
attacked by weasels, but was never hunted by 
them on any other occasion.” 
The above must have occurred about 1812, the 
locality being the North of England. 
Mattapan. 
The Blue-Gray Gnat-Catcher. 
Ashtabula, Ohio, April 27.— Editor Forest 
and Stream: To see him at all closely one must 
be pretty conversant with the manners and 
methods of the w r ood folks, for a sly little fellow 
is the blue-gray gnat-catcher, though rather 
sociable withal and generally allows one a good 
opportunity to study his movements when one 
has once located him. Along the lake range he 
is entirely a migratory bird, only to be found 
during his spring and fall journeyings, and he 
winters far to the south in Mexico and even more 
distant countries, and comes no further north to 
nest than the middle boundary save when adrift 
in migratory wanderings. 
It is a great pity that this little fellow makes 
himself so conspicuous by his absence in so many 
sections, for he is one of the most charming little 
songsters in his family, and makes up for his 
inconspicuous plumage by his exceeding grace of 
form and movement. Seldom at rest even for a 
moment he in many ways resembles the catbird 
in miniature and might easily be mistaken for 
some freak of that erratic family. Even his song, 
which he warbles softly as he flits from branch 
to branch, ever on the alert for small game, is 
exceedingly like the catbird’s save in power and 
the absence of the discordant me-ouw which is 
characteristic of the larger bird’s music. 
In coloring his sleek and dapper little body 
is grayish-blue above and grayish-white below, 
and he also sports a conspicuous white eye-ring! 
On each side of his long tail are three white 
feathers shading to dark gray which he shows 
SEVEN YOUNG FLICKERS CLINGING TO A TREE. 
Photographed by R. H. Beebe. 
From “The Bird.” Copyright, 1906, by Henry Holt & Co. 
