OUR PRICELESS SWALLOWS 



and almost inaccessible. However, I thought there was 

 a way. We got a long ladder, and I climbed up on a 

 beam which went rather near the nest. I pulled the 

 ladder up after me and placed it across two beams. 

 Then Ned handed me up some boards and I made a 

 little platform on the ladder to stand the camera and 

 tripod upon. The camera set up on the tripod could 

 now stand close to the nest, but it was too dark even 

 to focus. However, I was ready for that difficulty. I 

 had brought a good-sized mirror, and now I asked Ned 

 to stand just outside the barn door in the strong sun- 

 light and throw up the reflected light upon the nest. 

 It was easy now to focus. Then I held up a smaller 

 mirror which I carried in my pocket and had Ned 

 throw the light on my mirror, and I in turn threw it 

 down into the nest upon the backs of the young birds, 

 and thus I made some successful quite short exposures. 

 Then I brought down a young swallow, posed and 

 photographed it outdoors, put it back into the nest, 

 and the work was done, and well done — thanks to my 

 valuable assistant. 



Probably the Barn Swallow is the best known of the 

 six species found in our Northern and Eastern districts 

 — the bird with the forked tail, reddish breast and 

 shiny blue-black upper parts. They build nests of 

 mud and straw on beams inside barns and sheds. The 

 settlement of North America by the white man has 

 changed the habits of many of the birds, notably the 

 swallows, and among them this particular kind. Its 



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