64 WILD LIFE AND THE CAMERA 



pass by and no good photographs be secured, he 

 must not be discouraged. Birds are somewhat 

 uncertain in their moods, and years of persecu- 

 tion by man have had the effect of instilling in 

 them a very natural feeling of fear and distrust, 

 which can only be changed by kindness and 

 patience. 



My chapter on the worm-eating warbler and her 

 family offers a good example of what patience and 

 fair treatment can accomplish with birds. It must 

 not be imagined that this comparatively rare bird 

 would come so near the camera when first we met ; 

 that would have been expecting too much. Only 

 after she for I presume it was a female had 

 learned to know me, and realised that I intended no 

 harm, did she place such confidence in one whom 

 she had probably considered her natural enemy. 

 Let one of these warblers be seen by a collector, 

 and what is its fate ? Death, with Science as the 

 threadbare and usually valueless excuse. Would 

 that more of the so-called collectors (I do not refer 

 to those who are really working upon a scientific 

 basis and with a knowledge of their subject that 

 enables them to do the good expected of them) 

 might more often exchange the gun for the camera ! 

 If that could be, photographers as well as the birds 

 would be the gainers, so that from a selfish stand- 

 point, if for no other reason, I would recommend 

 the harmless camera. Take for example the accom- 

 panying pictures of a family of young crested fly- 

 catchers. Surely they are more likely to give pleasure 

 in this form than if they were a set of the most 

 perfectly made " skins," arranged with infinite care 



