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foeal length will always make the same sized image of a 

 certain sized bird at the same distance. Unfortunately this 

 image of the smaller birds is very tiny unless the camera is 

 very close to the subject. How^ then^ can we get close 

 enough to the birds or get them to come close enough to us? 

 Certainly not by chasing them. The devotion of birds to 

 their offspring is not surpassed by that of human mothers 

 for their children ; for them, they will face any danger. 

 Here then^ is the magnet that will unfailingly draw the bird 

 within reaching distance of the camera-eye. 



Having located a nest in a get-at-able position, there are 

 two practical methods of procedure in order to get the de- 

 sired pictures. I will first mention the tent method as that 

 is much the best. Birds pay little or no attention to inani- 

 mate objects, a fact which makes bird photography possible. 

 I believe it was Kearton. in England, who first conceived 

 this idea of photographing from a blind. He used an arti- 

 ficial tree trunk that he set in place near birds' nests and 

 from the inside of which he made his pictures. It has been 

 found that it is not even necessary that the blind bear re- 

 semblance to surrounding objects. 



The simplest, most compact and most portable form of 

 tent is that known as the umbrella-tent. An ordinary, 

 strong umbrella is fitted with extensions so that the handle 

 may be lengthened to about six feet; a covering is made to 

 fit over the top and droop to the ground. This simple tent 

 can be held rigidly upright by three guy cords from the top. 



The tent can be used successfully from which to photo- 

 graph birds returning to their eggs, but only when the lat- 

 ter are in advanced stages of incubation, at which time home 

 ties will be strong enough to induce the bird to return. Too 

 early an attempt at its use will cause the bird to desert its 

 nest. 



The following will represent the mode of procedure in 

 nearly every instance where a nest is not more than six feet 



