WHAT I HAVE DONE WITH BIRDS 



glossy leaves, flowers and the nest and eggs, if they are of light 

 color. 



Nature revels in strong contrasts of light and shade, sweet 

 and sour, color and form. The whole value of a natural-history 

 picture lies in reproducing atmosphere, which tells the story of 

 out-door work, together with the soft high lights and velvet shad- 

 ows which repaint the woods as we are accustomed to seeing them. 

 It is not a question of timing; on nests and surroundings all the 

 time wanted can be had; on young and grown birds, snap shots 

 must be resorted to in motion, but frequently, with them, more 

 time than is required can be given. It is a question of whether 

 you are going to reproduce nature and take a natural-history pic- 

 ture, or whether you are going to insert a background and take a 

 sort of flat Japanese, two-tone, wash effect, fit only for decora- 

 tion, never to reproduce the woods. 



Also in working about nests when the mother bird is brooding, 

 the idea is, or should be, to make your study and get away speed- 

 ily ; and this is a most excellent reason from the bird's side of the 

 case as to why a background never should be introduced. In the 

 first place, if you work about a nest until the eggs become chilled 

 the bird deserts them, and a brood is destroyed. On fully half 

 the nests you will wish to reproduce, a background could not be 

 inserted without so cutting and tearing out foliage as to drive the 

 bird to desert; to let in light and sunshine, causing her to suffer 

 from heat, and so to advertise her location that she becomes a prey 

 to every thoughtless passer. The birds have a right to be left 

 exactly as you find them. 



It is a good idea when working on nests of young birds, where 

 you have hidden cameras in the hope of securing pictures of the 

 old, and must wait some time for them to come, to remember that 

 nestlings are accustomed to being fed every ten or fifteen min- 

 utes, and even oftener. If you keep the old ones away long, you 



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