BULLETIN No. 32. 21 



nor study to the development of this new method "of bird 

 studies, and is therefore al)le to anticipate the needs of bird 

 students who would use the camera if they but knew how to 

 begin. 



After an introduction in which bird photography is describ- 

 ed as " the use of the camera as an aid in depicting the life 

 histories of birds," some unanswerable arguments upon " the 

 scientific value of bird photography," and " the charm of bird 

 photography " contrasted with the sportsman's apparent pleas- 

 ure in killing the birds, the author gives a careful and clear 

 statement of what the bird photographer's outfit should con- 

 sist of and the methods he should emplo}' to attain the greatest 

 degree of success. "The camera — The lens — The shutter — 

 The tripod — Plates — Blinds — vSundries," are all discussed from 

 the standpoint of one who has had large experience not as a 

 professional photographer but as a bird photographer. The 

 discussion of methods covers "Haunts — Sea.sons — Nests and 

 eggs — Young birds — Adult birds, ' ' from large experience with 

 the camera. 



After discussing the outfit and methods, the author pro- 

 ceeds to illustrate concretely in ten chapters what can be ac- 

 complished in bird .studies in all sorts of situations and under 

 all sorts of circumstances. The 110 illustrations, frontispiece, 

 tailpiece and tvi'elve initial illu.strations are all the work of the 

 camera and are a picture gallery of more than usual interest 

 not to .say an education in pha.ses of bird life. 



The table of contents will better illustrate the wideness of 

 the field covered in the text than could be done otherwi.se. 

 " Bird photography begins at home, The Chickadee — a study 

 in black and white. The Least Bittern and some other reed 

 inhabitants, Two Herons, Where Swallows roost. Two days 

 with the Terns, Perce and Bonaventure, The Magdalens, Bird 

 Rock, Life on Pelican Island, with some .speculations on the 

 origin of bird migration." The 214 pages of text are full of 

 information both photographic and ornithologic. The book 

 .should be in every librar}' where it is desired to create interest 

 in the birds among the children as well as among older persons. 

 The book is written in ]\Ir. Chapman's clear and pleasing .style, 

 the type is large and clear-cut, the paper heav}' enamel upon 

 which the illustrations .show sharp details, and the typography is 



