CHAPTER IV. 



PHOTOGRAPHING YOUNG BIRDS. 



THE photography of young birds forms a con- 

 venient and transitional step from the com- 

 paratively easy still-life subjects we have been 

 considering to the more advanced work on the 

 parent bird. No branch of the art calls for more 

 patience, I had almost said self-control, than does 

 this. To be frustrated for a whole day by some 

 cunning and wary mother-bird is not one-tenth 

 part so exasperating as to be beaten, though only 

 for an hour or so, by a little down-clad youngster 

 but a few days old, which obstinately refuses 

 to face or be faced by the camera. In the former 

 case there is ever, to the last minute, a feeling of 

 sport and excitement : the next moment may see 

 the bird returning and the realization of our 

 hopes ; but in the latter it seems ridiculous to be 

 beaten by such an inexperienced mite, and ex- 

 asperation is the word that best describes one's 

 feelings. 



Some chicks are just as obliging as others are 

 annoying, and either face the camera with total 



