The Use of a Blind in the Study of Bird -Life 



By FRANK M. CHAPMAN 



IF one would study the habits of birds under natural conditions it is of the 

 first importance that they be unalarmed by one's presence. While in some 

 comparatively rare instances a species may not have acquired fear of man 

 or may, fortunately, have learned to trust him, man's presence is always a more 

 or less disturbing element, if not to the bird in question, at least to other species 

 with which it may chance to become associated. With bird as with man, the 

 consciousness of being under observation induces more or less artificialty of 

 manner, and if one would gain true insight into either bird life or human life, 

 ones subject should be unaware that they are the objects of scrutiny. 



It sometimes happens that one finds, already existing, a place which affords 

 effective concealment, but this is exceptional and, in the end, it will be found 

 necessary to employ an artificial blind. 



I must confess that when writing 'Bird Studies with a Camera' I did not appre- 

 ciate the necessity for a hiding-place which not only permitted one to photograph 

 but to see. But whether or not one uses a camera, a blind will be found to be 

 of the greatest assistance in securing the proper point of view. 



It is the first requisite of such a blind that it be easily transportable; it should 

 also be inconspicuous, and so simple in construction that it may be quickly 

 erected. The results of my first attempt (1900) to make a structure which would 

 fulfil these requirements was a ridiculously compHcated affair of upright sticks 

 and iron hoops around which was placed a 'can- 

 vas, painted in the somewhat distant semblance 

 of bark. This affair was supposed to be an imi- 

 tation tree trunk, and it illustrates how far one 

 may be carried on the wrong road by a false 

 premise. The fundamental error in this case was 

 the belief that the blind must be like some object 

 in nature. As a matter of fact, this is not neces- 

 sary. It should be as unconspicuous as possible, 

 and it is often more quickly accepted if it be 

 partly disguised with reeds, bushes or \ines. But 

 its chief virtue is its immovability. It may excite 

 suspicion for a time, but its inanimateness finally 

 wins and, to the birds, it becomes a part of the 

 landscape to be perched on if convenient. 



This at least has been my experience with the 

 blind from the shelter of which most of my studies 

 of birds have been made. In brief, this blind is an 

 umbrella opened within a bag long enough to fall to 

 the ground. It may be described in detail as follows: 



(250) 



THE UMBRELLA AND 

 SUPPORTING RODS 



