A BI-MONTHLY MAGAZINE 



DEVOTED TO THE STUDY AND PROTECTION OF BIRDS 



Official Organ or The: Audubon Societies 



Vol. XVI 



March — April, 1914 



No. 2 



The Electric Current in Bird Photography^ 



TREE SWALLOW 



By GUY A. BAILEY, Geneseo, N. Y. 

 With photographs by the author 



A' 



iNYONE who has attempted bird photog- 

 raphy,- and used the uncertain thread or 

 the bulb with its cumbersome tubing for 

 releasing the shutter, must have wished for an 

 ^^ electric shutter. 



M^^ So far as I can find out, there is no such 



^K^M shutter on the market. It would seem to be a 



^^^fr simple contrivance if there were a large demand 



^K^R^ for the product. 



^^^^H^ In the absence of such a shutter, I have 



#^r ^^ substituted an ordinary electric bell, made over 



to serve the purpose. The only parts used are 

 the electro-magnets, armature, and frame. The 

 hammer is removed and the shaft bent at right 

 angle to the armature. The wiring is changed so 

 that the interrupter is cut out. Two pieces of 

 sheet-zinc, two inches by three-fourths of an 

 inch, are bent to form a right angle and soldered 

 together at the base, leaving a three-sixteenth- 

 inch space between the upright portions. A hole 

 is bored in the outer zinc, to admit the end of the 

 bent shaft which normally rests against the 

 second zinc. A piece of number eighteen copper wire, four inches long, is 

 bent to form a loop. One end is fastened to strong thread that leads to the 

 release, and the other end is fastened to rubber bands that are secured below. 

 This apparatus should be fastened to a board, and the whole thing nailed to 



*During the past several years Bird-Lore has published a number of unusual bird 

 photographs by Mr. Guy A. Bailey. In this article Mr. Bailey describes some of his 

 unique methods in bird photography and gives additional examples of his work. — Ed. 



