AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGY. 219 



OLD METHODS vs. THE NEW. 



During the past summer there appeared a new book, describing a new 

 method for the study and photography of birds. This method was to cut 

 down and remove the branch containing the nest and young, to a conven- 

 ient place, near by, in the bright sunUght, and erect beside it a tent from 

 within which the observer could watch the birds, who overcome by the 

 desire to care for their offspring would finally come to feed them in their 

 new situation. 



Verily, the lot of the birds is a hard one. No sooner is one enemy dis- 

 posed of than another appears in his place. I venture to say that no book 

 that has yet been published can produce the harm to our birds that this 

 one is capable of. I have examined the book thoroughly and fail to find 

 one logical reason as to why this method should prove beneficial to the 

 study of bird life. 



Most birds are extremely sensitive, and at least one-half of them will de- 

 sert a nest if it is removed. Besides the danger to the young from the de- 

 sertion of the parents is another equally as great. In order to successful- 

 ly photograph a live bird, it must be in the bright sunlight. The heat of 

 a summer sun is very intense, and consequently fatal results are apt to 

 follow from this method, in fact the author mentions that the occupants of 

 three nests out of twenty-six upon which he experimented, died from the 

 heat or storms. It is safe to say that from the care they will receive from 

 most followers of this method the mortality will be much greater. These 

 facts should condemn this method at once, even if the danger from their 

 other enemies were not increased by leaving them in such an exposed 

 position. 



Even supposing that there were no bad results, where are the advant- 

 ages from this new method? If a person be not too critical and senti- 

 mental, the pictures in this book are pretty. But where is the beauty in 

 a picture when the leaves are all wilted and dying, and of what value is a 

 photograoh depicting a bird standing over her nest, with bill open gasping 

 for breath, ^and feathers standing on end in the vain endeavor to keep cool 

 and also to protect the little ones from the heat? It certainly shows the 

 birds' devotion to their young, but it is not nature, as nearly all birds pro- 

 tect their nests from the sun by overhanging leaves. Photographs from 

 life to be of value must show a bird attending to its duties in a natural 

 manner, and such cannot be obtained under these conditions. Further- 

 more, with a camera, a field glass, a long string or tube to release the 

 camera shutter, and an assistant with a mirror to throw the light where 

 wanted, there are few nests so situated that photos of the old birds feed- 

 ing the young cannot be obtained without disturbing the nest or branch. 



