128 Shufeldt, Photographing a Live Gambel's Partridge. f April 



NOTES ON PHOTOGRAPHING A LIVE SPECIMEN 

 OF GAMBEL'S PARTRIDGE. 



BY R. W. SHUFELDT. 



Plates III- V. 



Mr. Nelson R. Wood of the taxidermical department of the 

 U. S. National Museum, owns a beautiful living specimen of 

 Gambel's Partridge {Callipeftla gambeli). It is a male bird, 

 and at this writing is in full plumage and thoroughly domesti- 

 cated. He will walk up and down one's arm, feed out of the 

 open hand, and bear stroking without the slightest alarm, or any 

 desire to take flight. Altogether it is one of the best and gentlest 

 little game pets I have ever seen, and has some very interesting 

 traits even in captivity. 



Recently the present writer has been engaged upon a paper 

 treating of scientific taxidermy, and in dealing with the game 

 birds, it became necessary to have some good photographs of 

 living Partridges to compare witli various examples of mounted 

 ones in the government collections of the National Museum at 

 Washington. Among other birds, Mr. Wood kindly placed this 

 specimen of Gambel's Partridge at ray disposition, for the 

 purpose I have named, and it made a most capital subject. 

 Under my supervision the photographs of it which illustrate this 

 article were made by Mr. Smillie of the photographic depart- 

 ment of the National Museum. 



We first tried to take the bird walking on a table, but after a 

 number of attempts — at least half a dozen — only one really good 

 result was obtained. At last a limb suggested itself to me, and 

 a suitable one was quickly found. On this the bird rested in a 

 number of easy and natural attitudes, but was continually moving 

 withal, and it required absolutely instantaneous exposures to get 

 a result. After about a dozen more attempts several very good 

 ones were secured, and they present us with a variety of instruc- 

 tive points. 



In Plate III, a direct left-lateral view of the bird was obtained, 

 at an instant prior to its elevating its plumage for the purpose of 



