BIRDS OF OUR BUSH 



is difficult to account for the almost total absence of coloured 

 birds during the winter, 



A glance through our Wren pictures would at once show 

 that in very few cases are they taken at the nest. One 

 thing that the photographer learns very quickly is any 

 peculiarity of his subject which serves his ends in obtain- 

 ing pictures. We soon discovered that the excitable 

 nature of the Wren provided the best influence for inducing 

 it to face the camera. The few cases in which we have 

 chosen a nest as the basis of operations have yielded results 

 very far from satisfactory. Latterly we have always 

 endeavoured to capture young birds which have recently left 

 home and to train the camera on some point, a convenient 

 stone or stump, near which the noisy young ones are tem- 

 porarily imprisoned. Under such circumstances the pres- 

 ence of the camera is entirely disregarded in the excite- 

 ment. The extreme rapidity of the bird's movements, 

 however, leaves the photographer little time for dream- 

 ing if he would catch it in the position he desires. Often 

 he will find that, by the time his decision to make an expo- 

 sure is communicated to his hand and by the thread from 

 his hand to the shutter, the bird has taken wing and appears 

 as a blur half-way off the plate. For this reason it is advis- 

 able, where possible, to dispense with the thread and to 

 operate the shutter with the finger. 



At a nest containing eggs only, photography is quite 

 often a very slow process. It is often possible on such 

 occasions to cheat the birds into excitement by imitating 

 the cries of young birds. Quite unconscious, apparently, 

 of the fact that these sounds are unlikely to emanate from 

 a nest of eggs, the birds, females in particular, take on a 

 characteristic mouse-like attitude, raising their feathers, 

 and running along the ground in evident distress. This 

 attitude is conveyed somewhat by the picture appearing on 

 page 73. 



The Blue Wren is a vivacious little creature at any time, 

 but seen at close quarters on a sunny day, the sheen and 

 glitter of the dark and light blue coat of the male leaves 

 little to be desired in the way of beauty. The plumage 

 of the female shows no sign of the bright blue of the male. 

 She is brown in general appearance, ashy grey beneath, 

 while a patch of bright chestnut appears round each 

 eye. Quite possibly many casual observers have seen 



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