RARE PICTURES AFIELD 187 



digested corn in horse and cattle droppings, of 

 waiting to fly until they are almost under passing 

 wheels, settling a few seconds on fences, and at 

 once returning to the road. These proceedings 

 lead people into believing that doves are very tame 

 and friendly. I never have worked around the 

 nest of a shyer, wilder bird than a brooding dove. 

 A male dove I never have had in range of a camera 

 during all of my work afield, and only two different 

 females among many I have tried for. I finally 

 secured a picture of this orchard dove which filled 

 a seven by nine plate, at slightly less than ten feet; 

 but in all of my experience afield, no bird has made 

 me exercise more patience or work harder than this 

 bird, brooding in plain sight in an old orchard. 

 • Another picture, which I regard as rare for its 

 artistic as well as its scientific value, is one of a 

 long pictorial reproduction of the history of a 

 cowbird that invaded the river bank in my terri- 

 tory. This bird laid her first egg in the nest of a 

 song sparrow, which the sparrow had just com- 

 pleted, but in which she had not yet deposited 

 her first egg. The sparrow obviated the difficulty 

 by carrying material and burying the cowbird 

 egg, building a new floor completely over it, and 

 raising the walls slightly higher. The next cow- 

 bird egg went into the nest of a vireo a few rods 

 farther down the bank. I made a picture of this 

 nest, containing two vireo eggs and one of the 

 cowbird's. I was forced to remove one of the 



