NATURE PICTURES. 511 



The had one proved to be very bad indeed, and he is .shown in onlv 

 two of the many photographs I made of the family. 



While these pictures were being taken, one of the parent birds 

 stayed near by to watch over her youngsters, while the other went off 

 in search of food, for which they called contiiuially, and though I was 

 not more than 3 or -i feet distant, she fed them without troubling her- 

 self at all about my presence. Once she even perched on my hat and 

 used the camera as a half-way house, resting on it each time she went 

 back and forth to supply the tiedglings with food. Unfortunately the 

 light was not very good for instantaneous photograph}^, but such an 

 opportunity for securing pictures of this comparatively rare l)ird was 

 not to be missed, so I made many exposures on her and her young, 

 with fair results. 



From a photographic stand point they are, of course, faulty, hut the 

 su])ject is sufficiently interesting to warrant one's overlooking these 

 shortcomings. The light had grown so weak by the time I had made 

 about fifteen exposures that I was forced to abandon any further 

 attempts with the camera for that day. Sitting down on the ground, 

 I placed the 3"oung warblers on my lap to examine them carefully. 

 Imagine my surprise when both the parent birds came on my knee, 

 first without and then with food for the j^oungsters. It was quite a 

 novel sensation, and one that was more than enjoyable. It was posi- 

 tively thrilling. 



Knowing from past experience how skeptical people are when told 

 of anything that they themselves have not seen, I made up my mind 

 then and there to pay my warbler friends another visit early the fol- 

 lowing day, and photograph the old one on my hand. The day was 

 fine, and I was fortunate enough to find one of the young ones, who 

 could now ffy a little, perched on the low branch of a small bush. One 

 of the old birds was hunting busily for insects. Seeing me pick up her 

 baby, she ffew toward me, but did not object in the least to my taking 

 temporary possession of it. So I felt sure that she recognized her 

 friend of the previous day. A few moments sufficed to arrange the 

 camera in a place where the light was bright, and when all was ready 

 to my satisfaction, I took the little fellow, who had been quietly sleep- 

 ing in the warm sunlight, and set him on my finger. 



Soon he called lustily for food, and it was strange to see how (piickly 

 his parent heard and understood. In a minute or two she came hur- 

 rving along, carrving in her beak a daddy-long-legs, and, after paus- 

 ing on the camera to see that all was right, she ffew on my hand, and 

 calmly fed her hungry little one. AVith my disengaged hand I 

 pressed the bulb, and a picture was secured. 



The daddy-long-legs served only to whet the appetite of my small 

 friend, who cried out eagerly for more. Again the industrious pro- 

 vider went off in search of other and larger insects. She was away 

 SM 1900 36 



