88 PHOTOGRAPHY FOR BIRD-LOVERS. 



one species, is eaten up by another before the 

 intended banqueter arrives ; but this may be 

 avoided, or, at least, the likelihood of its happen- 

 ing greatly lessened, by carefully considering the 

 form and place in which we offer it. Some birds 

 will come to a hanging bait while others are quite 

 nonplussed by it ; some will enter a hole or pass a 

 fence of cotton which turns others back; while 

 only certain birds will notice food if it be placed 

 twenty feet or more up in a tree ; so we may 

 eliminate at least a few of the undesirables 

 if we know the habits of the birds we have to 

 deal with. 



If one is not already familiar with the natural 

 food of any species, its nature can generally be 

 found in works on ornithology, but not infre- 

 quently this will be found to be quite unobtainable 

 in quantities enough to form an attractive bait, 

 and an artificial food as appetizing to their palate 

 as we can devise must be substituted. It will at 

 once be inferred that so far as the mere catering 

 goes, most fish, flesh, and seed-eating birds should 

 be easy to attract, and that our greatest difficulty 

 in this direction will be with insect feeders, and so, 

 generally, will it prove in practice. Fortunately 

 many of these latter are only too glad during the 

 winter months to feed on such dainties as shredded 

 fat or suet. This can conveniently be given in a 



