1 84 WITH THE U. S. NATURALISTS 



After supper, when it was quite dark, Shan re- 

 turned to the spot with an ax and some old sacks 

 and set to work to make a brushwood shelter or 

 blind, from which he could watch the birds and 

 from behind which he could operate his camera. 

 It took about three hours' work, during all of 

 which time it was so dark that he could not see if 

 the Thrush were still on her nest. 



Following out the ideas in the Handbook, which 

 gives the details for making an umbrella blind for 

 bird observers, Shan lined the inside of his shelter 

 with old sacks. Pie knew that no shelter of brush- 

 wood could be made so opaque that a bird's sharp 

 eyes could not see a movement within. Moreover, 

 it is these half-seen movements which frighten 

 birds away, for they suggest a beast of prey creep- 

 ing upon them. 



For a bird observer, a blind is almost a neces- 

 sity. It is made with a big umbrella having a 

 hole in the center for air, the handle being at- 

 tached to a four-foot stick with a spike which may 

 be stuck deeply in the ground. Denim is sewed 

 together in strips to make a piece ten feet wide by 

 six feet high. The two ends have tapes on them. 

 When these tapes are tied, the denim makes a bag 

 without top or bottom. Through the top a draw- 



