134 



NATURE STUDY REVIEW [8 :4— April, 1912 



evidently a second effort of a pair of birds to raise a family, 

 the first nest having probably been destroyed by a cold wave or 

 by a farmer's plow. In this nest are two eggs of the Cowbird 

 besides those of the Larks ; the former may be distinguished by 

 their larger spots. 



A considerable ability to climb trees is of course necessary 

 in order to photograph nests that are built in trees, and the 

 operator must not be afraid to stand upon small branches and 

 hold on to other small branches with one hand while the camera 

 is being fastened for a snapshot. One of the difficulties en- 

 countered while photographing nests in trees is' that of getting 

 the camera the proper distance above and to one side of the nest. 

 This may be accomplished by strapping the camera to the limbs, 

 but a better method is that of fastening the camera to a branch 

 with a holder such as is used by bicyclists to attach the mstrument 

 to the handlebars. Another difficulty is that of getting an even 

 light, since leaves and branches overhead almost always cast 

 shadows upon the nest. There are two methods of solving this 

 problem ; one is to move the interposed branches to the side — 

 a process that is not often possible ; the other is to cut off the 

 limb bearing the nest and move it out into the open. The latter 

 method is feasible in some cases, as will be shown later, but 

 should not be employed if possible on account of the danger of 

 driving the parents away from their home. 



3. PHOTOGRAPHING ADULT WH.D BIRDS. 



The goal of every bird photographer's ambition is to ob- 



