RARE PICTURES AFIELD 163 



standing guard on the edge of the nest while the 

 female went to bathe and drink. Two of these 

 were unusually interesting, one was an exposure 

 showing his head turned to one side as a bird does 

 when it is intently watching and listening; the 

 other was taken immediately after a bath, while his 

 wet feathers were so plastered to him in patches 

 that anyone not understanding the situation would 

 marvel at his condition. This picture I did not 

 include in the book, as I wished to use it for the 

 frontispiece of another book exclusively on birds, 

 for which I was gathering material at that time. 

 Another picture of extreme interest occurs twice 

 in the book, where the male is photographed side- 

 wise, his head turned directly toward the lens, 

 his mouth open enough so that the curved line of his 

 beak and the incisor, which might almost be the 

 remnant of vanishing teeth, show. There is no 

 way to estimate the scientific value of such a 

 picture of a living bird, because the bird is shown 

 in the freshness of life, and not in the dried, shrun- 

 ken condition of a museum specimen. In each 

 of these pictures the formation of the upper man- 

 dible also is clearly outlined. This series includes 

 studies of the male bird with his feathers on end, 

 his body tipped to such an angle as would allow 

 the sun to shine on his skin, as birds place them- 

 selves for a sun bath. Another pose is without 

 a suspicion of crest, his feathers plastered tight as 

 they are held by the birds to keep a dash of rain 



