198 



THE OOLOGIST. 



and a slight mixture of downy willow 

 catkins with a lining of tlie same. It 

 proves to be considerably smaller than 

 that of the young paii: and is deeper. 

 Diameter, outside, 3.25 x 2.80. Depth, 

 outside, 3.25; inside, 2.75 inches. One 

 curious thing about this nest is the 

 weaving, in fact, it is not woven at all 

 on the longest sides, merely cross 

 thatched most of the straws being fast- 

 ened near the brim of the nest at its 

 shortest sides. 



An(jther nest of an old pair, and of 

 which I have a photograph, is now be- 

 fore me and measures as follows: 



Extreme diameter, outside, 4 inches; 

 inside, 3.25. Dia-.ueter at brim, outside, 

 2.75; inside 1.50. Depth, outside, 4 

 inches; inside, 2.75. It was securely 

 fastened to several branches of an asli 

 tree within six feet of the ground, and 

 July 4th contained four eggs. 



The picture shows the form of the 

 nest and its situation, and where a 

 band of straws were woven around it 

 after it was nearly finished, to make 

 it more secure. It is globular in form 

 and composed of the, same material as 

 the last, but a rather coarser selection. 



Did it ever occur to you that it was 

 possil)le to photograph a liird while it 

 was constructing a nest or excavating a 

 hole as Woodpeckers, Sapsuckers and 

 some other birds do? j' Nevertheless it 

 is much easier than you would sup- 

 pose. 



It is possible to catch the Oriole 

 weaving in those tangled threads, shap- 

 ing that beautiful specimen of bird art, 

 that cradle for their young. It is pos- 

 sible to catch the Woodpecker chiseling 

 away at that hole while clinging to the 

 tree, or as it stops and listens. It is 

 possible to picture the wren as it fills 

 up the crevice of some decaying tree, 

 bearing in those heavy twigs which 

 seem so large for a little bird to carry, 

 or peeping out to see that there is no 

 intruder about. It is possible to hide a 

 camera where man could not hide with- 



out being discovered, and take a pic- 

 ture when you are rods away. It is 

 possible to set the camera in the tree- 

 top and take a picture with it while 

 standing on the ground. All these and 

 hundreds of other methods are possible 

 if y'oiir lenses and camera are suited to 

 the work. 



Fur instantaneous pictures at close 

 and medium ranges yon need rapid 

 rectilinear, or a portrait lens, but for 

 time exposures at close range a single 

 lens is undoubtedly the best. 



Trusting it will interest you, I will 

 endeavor to describe a contrivance of 

 my own construction, a tree tripod in 

 fact, which will securely hold the cam- 

 era to any tree of reasonable dimen- 

 tions, or to an}' accessible limbs, enabl- 

 ing me to secure pictures, which could 

 not otherwise be taken to shoAv plainly, 

 if at all. The top consists of three 

 pieces of three-seventeenths-inch black' 

 walnut, each measuring 6x7 inches; 

 two cut lengthwise and one crosswise 

 of the grain, the latter being placed in 

 the center to prevent warping. In the 

 center of these a hole was bored to ad- 

 mit the tripod screw for fastening the 

 camera. The three legs; one measur- 

 ing 52 and the other two 48 inches in 

 length, were worked from an oak slab, 

 and measure at the larger end 1^ x| 

 inches, tapering to about f x | of an 

 inch, except the longest which is large 

 enough to admit a metal point. This 

 leg is affixed to the top of the center of 

 one of the long sides and near its edge, 

 allowing it to swing back like the cover 

 to a chest. The other legs are beveled 

 off for about 4 inches at the larger end 

 to bring them out of the lenses range, 

 and are fastened at the center of the 

 shortest sides about an inch from their 

 edges, with very small bolts. These 

 bolts being at least two inches from the 

 ends of the legs to make them more 

 rigid. 



The legs are independent of each 

 other and will make complete circles if 



