56 NATURE AND THE CAMERA 



that it is usually the female bird who feeds her young 

 in the presence of possible danger; often the male 

 does so as well, but never in my experience have I 

 seen the male bird come until his mate has led the 

 way. With some kinds of birds we find that the 

 male acts as sentinel and does nothing toward the 

 support of the family, while with others the two share 

 all the work together, nest-building, incubating, and 

 feeding the young. 



PART VI 



PHOTOGRAPHING YOUNG BIRDS ALONE, BOTH WILD AND TAME 



Outfit same as Part III, with the addition of a cage-like enclosure 

 oi some sort. 



In this branch of work we find the greatest possibil- 

 ities of making beautiful pictures, as the subject is, 

 or should be, under control so that we may arrange 

 our lighting to suit ourselves, and as there is no longer 

 the necessity for the objectionable instantaneous expo- 

 sure, we can use strong contrasts in the lighting that 

 would be impossible with a very short exposure. 

 One of the most effective arrangements of light, par- 

 ticularly for young birds that are fluffy, is where the 

 light comes from above and back of the bird. For 

 this sunlight is used, softened slightly by passing 

 through wet cheese-cloth or muslin. In this way, if 

 the bird faces you, its breast is in shadow, while the 



