i88 



Bird -Lore 



lent reveals the hidden secrets of a wild bird's domestic life as nothing else 

 can do. Therefore for women who want an outdoor recreation, and who love 

 wide spaces and waste places, or the quiet corners of the earth, there is nothing 

 that, in the end, becomes so absolutely absorbing as bird-watching with a 

 camera. 



It is the highest form of sport, having for its object not death, but life 

 and a fuller knowledge of the life history of nature's elusive, and perhaps most 

 beautiful children. "Wild as the waves, and free as heaven's dome." Means 

 and leisure are not a sine qua non of this particular form of sport, though the 



BOHEMIAN WAXWING 

 The first photograph ever taken of this species 



more one possesses of both, the better the work one ought to do. Until the last 

 two years, most of my photographic work has been crammed into one crowded 

 three weeks annually, and I have had to make it pay. 



There are three things to be aimed at: First, the bird and its ways; then, 

 the scientific record; and last, a technically good picture. Many bird-pho- 

 tographers reverse this order. I am the last person to despise a technically 

 perfect picture, but, if useful work is to be done, technicalities and rules must 

 sometimes be discarded for the sake of a sporting chance. If one wishes to 

 portray some emotion or gesture, it is of no use waiting light-meter in hand 

 for good light and correct exposure. Plate after plate must be blazed away 

 sometimes on the mere chance of getting what you want. It is not at all 

 correct photography, but I have always found it worth while, for my really 



