Deter oe Deeb, ON sh Usb in lerol N 5 
brilliant red Christmas ornament in the top of a small pine tree sits a 
scarlet tanager, and in another tree next to it are a pair of summer 
tanagers that I had looked for all day long. It is an excellent opportunity 
to compare the two males; I had not realized that the color of the former 
was so much richer than that of his close relative. As for the female, it is 
so similar to that of the scarlet species that I would ordinarily find it 
difficult to make a distinction between them in the field. 
I never see a cedar waxwing without feeling that it has just been 
freshly and perfectly groomed, and this seems particularly true of the flock 
that visits us as the sun is sinking. What other bird is quite so trim and 
pert? And is there any other bird where the individual seems to be so 
pleased with the other members of the flock? Compare for example a flock 
of quarreling gulls with a line of waxwings in their friendly ceremony of 
passing a berry, or other morsel of food, from one bill to the next while 
they perch side by side. 
I have taken a snapshot of the sun above the pine trees. There is no 
reason to suppose I shall have a negative worth printing, but I believe I 
know why we so often waste film in this way. It is an obstinate, but futile, 
attempt to hold fast to those fleeting moments when we are aware of 
certain overtones in our response to Nature. Fortunately, though, the 
memories of these experiences can be cherished. So, along with such 
memories as a never-to-be-forgotten Texas sunset, moonlight on a silent 
fir-bordered Canadian lake, and a California condor’s great spreading 
wings over a mountainside, I will treasure the memories of this day in the 
North Carolina hills. 
Evanston, Illinois. 
fl FI ia 
News from Afar 
PERMISSION FOR the publication of portions of two letters has been given us 
by Dr. Alfred Lewy, member of the Board of Directors of our Society, to 
whom they were addressed. The first, written by Lieut. Howard Murphy of 
the U. S. Marine Air Corps, does not disclose his whereabouts, but does tell 
us something of what at least one of our marines does with his spare time. 
While applauding the service he is giving to our war effort in the Pacific 
we can envy him the experiences of which he writes as follows: 
“Dear Doctor: Since I’m living in what resembles a huge bird’s nest— 
secondarily an air station—I thought you might be interested in some of 
the types. Our group physician and I have managed to catalogue the birds 
fairly accurately with the help of one or two bird books. However our most 
interesting ornithological character I can’t be too specific about lest I dis- 
close my position. It isn’t likely, but the censor objects. 
“To start with, the most raucous type we have is the bosen-bird, or 
red-billed tropic bird. You may have seen some on the west coast for they 
range from California to Japan. Large, white with a pinkish sheen, long 
red bill, and long red tail feather which he uses as a rudder and which 
designers use to decorate women’s hats, he is noisy, belligerent, and lacks 
ability to walk because of his short legs. 
