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THE OSPREY. 



THE OSPREY. 



An Illustrated Magazine of Popular Ornithology 

 Published Monthly except in July and August 



EDITED BY 



WALTER ADAMS JOHNSON 



ASSOCIATED WITH 



Dr. ELLIOTT COUES 



Subscription: In the United States, Canada and Mexico, One 

 Dollar a year, in advance. Single Copies. Ten Cents. 



Foreign Subscription: One Dollar and Twenty-five Cents. 

 Postage paid to all countries in the Postal Union. 



British agent: Frank A. Arnold, Mersham, Surrey, England. 



Advertising rates sent on request. 

 Official Organ Cooper Ornithological Club of the Pacific Coast. 



Notes and News of a relevant nature, and original contribu- 

 tions are respectfully solicited, and should be addressed to 

 the editor at the office of publication. 



Copyright. 1897, by The Osprey Co. Entered as second-class 

 mail matter at the New York, N.Y., Postofifice, March 2, 1898. 



THE OSPREY COMPANY. 



Removed December, 1897, from Galesburg, 111. to 



141 East 25TH Strkkt. - - - - New York City. 



EDITORIAL NOTES. 



The English magazine ' Photography ' speaking of 

 the work done in the photographing of birds and 

 animals by Messrs Richard and Cherry Kearton, 

 gives some idea of the labor, patience and persever- 

 ance incident to success in this work. We extract 

 the following : 



One of the most interesting lectures that it has been 

 our good fortune to listen to was the one delivered 

 at the Birkbeck Scientific and Literary Institution 

 on Wednesday, Sept. 8, on tlie subject of 'British 

 Birds' Nests,' by Mr. R. Kearton — interesting not 

 only to naturalists, but, above all, to photographers 

 The lecture was entirely illustrated by lantern views 

 from photographs direct from nature, the eggs and 

 nests being taken in siiit. The nests are shown with 

 no imaginary details, as is so often the case in illus- 

 trating bird-life, but the actual nests and eggs. To 

 view the photographs is a revelation, and the desire 

 to know how they were done is strong in all who be- 

 hold tnem. It says much for the possibilities of the 

 camera, and after seeing what Messrs. Kearton have 

 accomplished, it would appear that nothing is impos- 

 sible. The difficulties and dangers of the undertak- 

 ing were many ; rivers, tarns, and bogs had to be 

 waded, every likely and unlikely tuft, bush, tree, 

 hole, and cranny carefully examined, crags climbed, 

 precipices descended, and nights spent in the open 

 air. The explorers swam to small islands and isolated 

 rocks, lay for hours together in the wet heather, 

 traveled well on for ten thousand miles, and exposed 

 over one thousand photographic plates in pursuit of 

 their object. So it will be seen that this is no royal 

 road to photographic success, but one of hard, per- 

 sistent labor ; but the end fully justifies the means. 

 Photographs were shown of nests inside dark build- 

 ings, taken by reflecting the rays of the sun into the 

 interior with one mirror, on which the light was 

 caught and directed to the nest of which a picture 

 was desired, by another. One view was taken by 

 the photographer standing up to his waist in the 

 water, and another by hanging 150 feet over rugged 

 cliffs at the end of a rope, with nothing but 200 feet 

 of thin air between him and the sea, holding on to an 

 upright ladder with his teeth, in a tree so brittle that 



it was not safe to trust the ladder at an angle. Then, 

 again standing on the narrow ledges of Ailsa Crag, 

 oft the Ayrshire coast, where a slip meant instant 

 death. Such were some of the conditions under 

 which many of the photographs were taken. Many 

 good pictures, (good from a photographic standpoint) 

 were shown ; among others the nest of the only three 

 pairs of ospreys, or fish-hawks, that are said to 

 breed in these islands, and a photograph of a thrush 

 taken at night near Elstree by means of a flash. 

 This is believed to be the only instance of any wild 

 bird being photographed on its natural roost. The 

 subject treated of did not confine itself to birds ; 

 photographs of wild rabbits were shown, the exposure 

 being made from a prepared hole, banked up natur- 

 ally with turf, in which the photographer waited 

 seven hours for his opportunity. And an excellent 

 picture was shown of an adder in its natural pose 

 and position ; such an attempt has not been success- 

 fully made before. Ailsa Crag was pictured, and its 

 bird-life well represented. A fine photograph was 

 shown of a voung gray lag goose ; this was obtained 

 by sitting up all night The guillemots on the famous 

 pinnacle rocks at Fame Island were well represented ; 

 but no part of the lecture was more interesting than 

 the description given, and the views shown, of the 

 little commonwealth of St. Kilda, the only inhabited 

 place in Great Britain that has not been officially 

 surveyed. Altogether the subject is a new one, and 

 the ground covered not generally known There are 

 many photographers who are taking up this branch 

 of their art, and we are glad to know that the number 

 is increasing, but certainly the Brothers Kearton 

 may be considered as past-masters, both as naturalists 

 as well as photographers The subject seems to have 

 been well worked out, and it shows very clearly what 

 may be done by earnest and intelligent workers who 

 aim at perfect success and persevere until they at- 

 tain to it. 



We learn from ' Forest and Stream ' that there has 

 recently been transferred "from Geo. H. Richmond 

 & Co , of New York City, to Mr. Chas. H. Williams, 

 of Buffalo, of one of the best existing copies of Audu- 

 bon's great work. 'The Birds of America.' The 

 present copy must have been a very early impression, 

 as the condition of each copper plate is perfect, no 

 signs of wear being visible. It is also one of the 

 largest copies in existence, / c, the least injured by 

 the cropping by senseless binders. It is usual to find 

 a number of the birds themselves minus beak or tail, 

 thanks to the binder's guillotine ; but in Mr. Williams' 

 copy not a single plate has been injured by cropping. 

 This copy is 25;j.'sx383.,s in.; the work is usually cata- 

 logued at 24x37 in. Mr. Ernest Seton Thompson, 

 who acted as expert for Mr. Williams, was six hours 

 in examining the 435 plates." 



Some time ago the home and possessions of the 

 venerable Indian Chief, Simon Pokagon, were wiped 

 out with a forest fire, leaving the "Longfellow" of 

 the race in an almost destitute condition. His friends 

 have endeavored to secure subscriptions of money to 

 help him in this crisis. The little article printed in 

 this number of The Osprey was purchased of Chief 

 Pokagon, at a good price, by Mr. William Brewster, 

 and was presented to the editor of The Osprey while 

 with Mr. Brewster in Cambridge recently. 



'The San Francisco Call' has a note telling of the 

 dangerous climb made by Mr. H. R. Taylor to secure 

 a set of eggs from an Eagle's nest. A 28-foot ladder 

 used was carried 75 miles on top of a freight car — 

 into San Benito Valley — and 10 miles by wagon. 



Dr. Morris Gibbs writes ; " Within the last twelve- 

 month we have added two new species of birds to 



