220 AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGY. 



But the height of folly is reached when, as to my knowledge has been 

 done a number of times this season, a person uses this method merely for 

 observation. He hasn't a possible excuse to offer for the destroying of a 

 bird's happiness and perhaps also its home. 



Every act of a bird that is seen at the nest in its unnatural situation, 

 can, with a pair of field glasses, be observed equally well from a distance 

 and without disturbing the nest from its original site. Really, I should be 

 ashamed to see my name attached to an article describing how I had, de- 

 spite the agonizing cries of the parent birds, cut down a nest and removed 

 it fifty or sixty feet away, just to see if they could find it again, and have 

 to show, as an offset to the tortures to be endured by the young, only a 

 few notes describing how often the little ones were fed. 



Now I want to say to all readers of A. O.: — If you want to study or 

 photograph the home life of wild birds, don't remove the nest or branch from 

 its natural situation, and do what you can to discourage others from doing 

 this. 



This is an era of protection, and while the "New Methods'' might have 

 proved a success years ago it is sadly out of place now. 



AT THE HOME OF THE ROBIN. 



WITH PHOTOS FROM LIFE. 



At about eight o'clock on the morning of May 27th there boarded a cer- 

 tain suburban electric car, a man loaded down with several suspicious 

 looking packages. In fact he was a burglar. As the car sped on its way 

 he was forming plans to rob a home. The burglar left the car at the near- 

 est point to his destination, and continued up a side street until opposite 

 an apple orchard. The home he sought was some distance from any other 

 house, and was occupied by a middle aged couple and three children. 



After having gone nearly through the orchard, this man came to a stop 

 under a tree and proceeded to undo his bundle. First appeared a large 

 mirror, a camera, tripod, and the traveling bag was filled with a miscel- 

 laneous lot such as nails, twine, hammer, etc. A strange outfit for a burg- 

 lar? Well, the fact is the burglar was the writer who had planned, with- 

 out the owner's consent, to steal a likeness of the robin whose nest was 

 in the tree overhead. After having got the camera in readiness I climbed 

 the tree and, by the way, I was thankful that ivy had no terrors for me 

 as the tree was covered. You all probably know that a robin is a very 

 noisy bird if frightened from the nest, and I can assure you that if 1 had 

 been a bonafide burglar, and the inmates of the house had given me the 

 reception that I received here, I should have beaten a hasty retreat. It 



