Field Notes 



145 



FIELD NOTES 



PHOTOGRAPHING A KILDEER 



The extreme wariness of the Kildeer about its eggs is well 

 known and many an account has been written of the tricks em- 

 ployed by the would-be nest finder to remain in the premises in 



order to watch the owner settle upon her real nest and eggs. Be- 

 fore the April snows had entirely left the ground, Mr. Howard T. 

 Middleton happened upon the nest shown in the above picture and 

 laid plans to secure a series of pictures of the bird at her nest. The 

 field was being ploughed at the time and a spadeful of turf, con- 

 taining the nest, was shifted a few feet to freshly ploughed soil. 

 By means of light cord and small pulleys a contrivance was rigged 

 up by which the parent would snap the shutter when she settled 

 upon her eggs. The feature of this mechanism was a small "snap" 

 mouse trap which the bird could spring with a light pressure on 

 the cord and which in turn exerted a strong pull on the shutter. 

 Through the courtesy of Kodakery we are enabled to reproduce 

 one of the series of five pictures printed in its August number. 



A. F. G. 

 A WHITE COWBIRD 

 (Molothrus (iter ater) 

 On April 15, 1921, Mrs. A. J. Williams of Norman, Oklahoma, 

 called me up, saying there was a " white Cow-blackbird " near her 

 house. On going over there I saw it among a large flock of ordi- 

 nary Cowbirds and watched it for twenty minutes through field 

 glasses, seeing it in various positions and being able to approach 

 it closely. One foot seemed to be crippled so that it did not walk, 

 but had to hop on the other foot. Its feathers looked somewhat 

 ruffled. Above it appeared to be pure white; but underneath, its 



