vi Preface 



the same picture, but however successful this method 

 may be in a drawing, it is practically impossible in a 

 photograph, with certain rare exceptions. As some 

 set-off against this disadvantage, it may be remarked 

 that in photography the momentary positions assumed 

 by a bird can be caught, as it were, and perpetuated 

 on glass, whereas these positions would tax the powers 

 of the best draughtsman to reproduce accurately with 

 the pencil ; in this way bird-photography may be said 

 to be a most valuable ally to the correct setting-up of 

 specimens for museums and other collections. 



One of the chief difficulties to be contended with in 

 this kind of photography is undoubtedly background, 

 and a picture that often looks most enchanting as seen 

 on the focussing-screen of the camera, comes out but a 

 sorry affair in the finished print when bereft of the 

 depth and colour which make every item stand out so 

 clearly on the screen. 



But little can be done with the birds except during 

 the nesting season, some people preferring to stalk 

 them, others to conceal the camera at a likely spot, 

 having everything in readiness for the release of the 

 shutter at the critical moment ; in the former plan the 

 operator may secure more photographs, but is entirely 

 at the mercy of his background, while in the latter, he 

 has the advantage of being able to arrange the picture 

 beforehand, all that is needed being the presence of 

 the bird itself. The dark backgrounds shown in nearly 

 all the illustrations in this book are due to the presence 

 of out-of-focus distance behind the birds themselves, 

 this method seeming to bring into relief the various 

 markings and details of feathering to better advantage 



