THRUSH COUSINS 



light upon this interesting subject, I set the camera 

 upon the shortened tripod, decked it with foliage, 

 attached a thread, set the shutter for one second ex- 

 posure, and retired for awhile. The birds soon stopped 

 scolding, so I sneaked up and discovered that the male 

 thrasher was upon the nest. So I pulled the thread, 

 and was glad to see that the bird sat still. He then 

 allowed me to creep up behind the camera, change 

 plates, and make exposures by hand, using a long- 

 focus, eighteen inch single lens. But when I tried 

 to push the camera nearer he beat a retreat. It was 

 now getting too dark for further work that day, so I 

 put back the bushes in order and went home. 



Owing to trips away and rainy weather, it was not 

 till four days later, June 22d, that I was able to resume 

 the work, this time with a reflecting camera. Again 

 the male was on duty. He slipped off as before, and 

 again I opened the bushes, and, very innocently, put 

 out my hand to the nest to remove an obstructing leaf. 

 I was so surprised and startled that I almost fell over 

 backward when instantly the male thrasher dashed 

 from the shrubbery behind the nest and struck the 

 offending hand a stinging blow. Quickly he withdrew 

 again and took his station behind the nest with his five 

 big offspring, waiting to see what I would do. As I 

 was not looking for a fight, but for the pictures, I 

 stepped back a bit and squatted, quietly waiting for 

 the brave defender to make the next move. Though it 

 was mid-afternoon, the June sun was quite warm, and 



233 



