The Bird Its Form and Function

by William Beebe

Excerpt from The Bird Its Form and Function

Far too many students of birds follow some such mode of procedure as When a new bird is found, it is shot, labelled, preserved in a collection and forgotten; or, if studying the bird with a glass, all effort is centred in finding some characteristic by which it can be named, and, succeeding in this, search is at once made for still another species, whose name can in turn be added to a list. Observing the habits, the courtship and nest-building, and memorizing the song, is a third phase of bird-study the best of all three methods; but few indeed have ever given a moment's thought to the bird itself.

518 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1906

About the author

Numerous expeditions of Charles William Beebe, American naturalist, explorer, and author, include a record oceanic descent in a bathysphere, which he helped to design in 1934.

William Beebe worked as a marine biologist and entomologist. For the zoological society of New York, he conducted his deep dives, and people remember his prolific scientific writing for both academic and popular audiences.

He also wrote under the names Charles William and C. William Beebe.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William...

Reviews

[Brychan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although it's old the book hasn't aged too badly. The passion Beebe had for the subject comes across strongly and makes it very enjoyable to read. It covers a lot of content without going too far into details, which makes it interesting and accessible to casual readers like myself. I would recommend it if you're interested in ornithology and have access to it.