

Anglesey 



The problem of photographing such mercurial 

 creatures seemed sufficiently difficult at first ; for, 

 small as the nesting holes were, the birds disappeared 

 through them with lightning rapidity. After watch- 

 ing their methods for a short while, however, I set 

 my camera upon the opposite wall and focussed on 

 the nest hole, laying on to the pneumatic release a 

 length of extra tubing, which I carried along the top 

 of the wall. I then gathered a small bundle of moss, 

 and when the old birds were absent, lightly plugged 

 the nesting hole. Returning to the bulb at the far 

 end of the tubing, I waited. Very soon one of the 

 old birds came down from the trees with a merry 

 chirp, but received a sharp shock when it beheld the 

 strange addition to its nesting quarters. As it hung 

 before the hole, caterpillar in beak, and with an 

 accusing eye upon the camera at its back, I released 

 the shutter, and had its counterfeit presentment 

 beyond cavil. 



Seeing that the bird still entered in spite of the 

 obstruction, when he came out I went to examine, 

 and found that the bundle of moss had served his 

 purpose as well as mine, for, like a sensible bird, he 

 had taken it inside with him, probably for domestic 

 uses. 



The coal-tit is a much rarer bird than the blue-tit 

 at Beaumaris, but I found a nest with young in a 

 similar situation in the wall near Menai. Unfortu- 

 nately,! deferred photographing it until the following 

 day, when I found that it had been " drawn " by a 



2 33 



