YOUNG BIRDS. 49 



Now, it is obvious that a photograph of them thus 

 hidden, although it may illustrate this habit 

 admirably, cannot possibly convey a good idea 

 of the chick itself, since if it serves to show the 

 bird's cleverness in concealing itself, the youngster 

 will be wellnigh invisible. Two or more pictures 

 must in such cases be taken, and it is of importance 

 that the one showing the hiding should be taken 

 first, for though the chick will remain motionless 

 for a long time if undisturbed, once let him be 

 removed and handled and he will not again so 

 carefully conceal himself as when he first sought 

 cover in obedience to his mother's warning cry. 



Other chicks, especially those of raptorial birds, 

 when vehemently resenting the intruder's presence, 

 make an admirable display of themselves, but one 

 has to be ready at once to snap them (instantaneous 

 work is here almost essential) for they soon calm 

 down and lose their fierce and characteristic 

 manner. They may be aroused again by shaking 

 something in their faces, but promptness in seizing 

 the desired moment is half the battle in chick- 

 photography. 



A too frequent source of failure here is under- 

 exposure. We can approach the youngsters so 

 closely that, being mostly small objects, they get 

 represented on a large scale, and we must, as said 

 before, increase the exposure to compensate for a 



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