114 MATESHIP WITH BIRDS 



the faithful male parent sat on the nest with wings 

 spread wide to keep the hot sun from scorching the 

 callow young, what time his beak was wide open, 

 as though the bird suffered from thirst. 



The opportunity for photographing the birds at 

 home was certainly magnificent. Trouble arose, 

 however, through an error of judgment regarding 

 the length of the improvised tripod. That checked 

 operations for the day, for the horse, cart, and other 

 apparatus had to be returned safely before its 

 rightful owner was out of bed. Then, as fate would 

 have it, dawn of the following morning was accom- 

 panied by a high wind; the nest swayed dan- 

 gerously, and photography was quite out of the 

 question. 



And so came a third trip. There would be no 

 mistake this time! The camera was in first-class 

 order, the long "legs" were strapped tightly to the 

 tripod, the wheels of the cart were safely locked, to 

 guard against any unscientific tendencies on the 

 part of our venerable horse, and, above all, the 

 weather was ideal for photography. Optimism ran 

 high on the ascent to that pretty home swaying so 

 gently in the tree-top and fell abruptly at the first 

 glance into the nest! Some winged Assyrian had 

 been down on the fold over-night and despoiled the 

 nest, thereby bringing as much chagrin to a pair 

 of spry youths as sorrow to a pair of brave birds! 

 Earlier in the hunt for Shrike-Tits' nests I had en- 

 dured with equanimity a fall from a tree-top, the 

 breakage of a camera, and sundry other "inciden- 

 tals," but this latest failure was the greatest trial 

 of them all. 



