Long thin body; yellowish beneath, brown above Tail long, about half the total length The Weasel is a vicious, bloodthirsty animal that often kills just for the sport of it. Most of its victims are mice and insects, so its murderous instincts really benefit us. Weasels hunt at all hours of the day or night and all year round. Specimens in our area will occasionally turn pure white in winter and become an “Ermine.” HOOF-FOOTED MAMMALS: DEER [Illustration: White-tailed Deer] White-tailed Deer (_Odocoileus virginianus_) Tail held upright when alarmed White patch on throat under chin Ear lined with white The White-tailed Deer is certainly the most obvious mammal on the Neck and is readily seen if one will take a short stroll in the wooded area behind the main beach or farther out on the Neck. There are probably close to one hundred deer here, a number approaching overpopulation. They feed mostly on grasses and the more succulent plants. Usually deer produce twins in early summer (June). The fawns are light tan and spotted with white. Deer may be seen readily in early evening when they come into the open fields to browse. They seem to have become quite accustomed to human observers and will frequently be as interested in you as you are in them. MAMMAL STUDY—A LIFETIME PROJECT Occasionally Whales, Seals, and Porpoises are sighted off the beach. These are true aquatic mammals. We have only listed the mammals regularly found living on the Neck. To see all of them is a summer’s project, and to study their life histories is equally exciting and challenging. A few books to help you are: William H. Burt and Richard P. Grossenheider, _A Field Guide to the Mammals_. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1952. $3.95 Victor H. Cahalane, _Mammals of North America_. New York: Macmillan, 1947. $7.95 William J. Hamilton, Jr., _The Mammals of Eastern United States_. Ithaca, N. Y.: Comstock, 1943. Out of print. Available in Museum of Science Library. Ralph S. Palmer, _The Mammal Guide: Mammals of North America North of Mexico_. Garden City, N. Y.: Doubleday, 1954. $4.95 Herbert S. Zim and D. F. Hoffmeister, _Mammals: A Guide to Familiar American Species_. New York: Golden Press, 1955. Cloth $2.50, paper $1.00 Chapter 7 WINGS OVER THE SAND More than any other form of nature, birds invite the notice of the casual naturalist. Their specializations, their plumage, and their song all serve as attractive bait for our attention. It is not surprising, then, that more books have been written about birds than any other life form, and that many of these have been directed especially to the layman.