When the North Wind Blows 401 



camera could be pointed was placed upon it. When the camera was put in place, 

 the birds never noticed the difference. They were not frightened away, and 

 no time was lost waiting for them to become accustomed to it. It was merely 

 necessary to wait for the birds to arrange themselves properly before pulling 

 the thread. 



Another occasion arose during the past winter. A Northern Shrike was 

 observed to dash into an arborvitse hedge near the house in pursuit of some 

 House Sparrows. Investigation showed the wings of four Sparrows on the snow 

 beneath the hedge, proving that the Shrike had been there before and would 

 probably come again. A dead Sparrow was, therefore, fastened to the tip of a 



"jij: 



LAPLAND LONGSPURS AND PRAIRIE HORNED LARKS AT A FEEDING-STATION. 

 EVERY WINTER THERE ARE NEW BIRDS TO BE PHOTOGRAPHED 



branch near the hedge. Two weeks passed, and the frozen Sparrow dangled 

 in the wind until one morning all but the leg by which it was fastened dis- 

 appeared. Later in the day the Shrike was seen fluttering at the tip of the 

 branch, trying to pull off the leg. No more Sparrows were available, but a 

 Duck that had died furnished a piece of flesh with feathers attached. This was 

 fastened in the place of the Sparrow, and the camera, covered with its gray 

 box, was focused upon it. The Shrike soon returned, but since it was beginning 

 to snow and the branch was swaying in the wind, conditions were impossible 

 for photography. A 4-foot stake was therefore driven into the snow below the 

 branch, and the piece of Duck nailed to the top of it, so that there would be no 

 motion. It was now snowing hard and so dark that an exposure of one-fifth 

 of a^second with the diaphragm at stop //6.3 was necessary, but when the Shrike 

 returned, he remained quiet enough to give a fairly satisfactory picture. 



