The Mourning Dove 



deserts its eggs if one disturbs the surround- 

 ings in the least, remains long, or returns 

 often. After the young are hatched, however, 

 it is much less apt to desert, although in the 

 writer's experience a dove will never return to 

 its nest while a camera is near by. 



Many previous attempts to photograph 

 these birds failed before the pictures here 

 shown were obtained. In this case, I moved 

 toward the nest very gradually, with camera 

 ready, placing it down at frequent intervals, 

 and acting all the while as unostentatiously 

 and unconcerned as possible. Despairing of 

 getting closer I made the first exposure at 

 about fifteen feet, then another at eight, and 

 finally one at four feet. Before the last ex- 

 posure I was forced to stand motionless behind 

 the camera for half an hour, waiting for the sun 

 to shine full on the bird, and the process of 

 working up took, altogether, perhaps two 

 hours. So slowly had I approached that the 



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