ON LONELY BIRD KEY 95 



The first thing to do is to photograph the Man-o'-War 

 Birds. They have been sleeping on some clumps of bushes, 

 in pretty close company with us. We do not see them go to 

 bed, for at dark they are still soaring ; but in the morning we 

 find them quietly roosting, some of them not more than 

 thirty or forty feet from our couches. They are late risers, 



THE LITTLE PIER. "THE NODDIES AND MAN-O'-WAR BIRDS LOVE TO ROOST ON IT" 



and sit there sleepily till some time after sunrise. So I quietly 

 set up the camera upon the tripod, with the telephoto attach- 

 ment, and get what views I wish, without alarming them, 

 right from my very bed ! 



Now we will stroll to the northern end of the island, look- 

 ing toward the fort, where the Sooties are very numerous. 

 They are nesting all over the dry sand above the beach, and 

 everywhere under the bushes farther back. As we approach, 

 they rise in astonishing numbers. The sun is yet low in the 

 east and lights up their white under parts as they rise, so that 



