THE METHODS OF THE BIRD PHOTOGKAPHER 



55 



As a known and fixed point to whicli the bird 

 may be expected to return, the nest offers the best 

 opi)ortunity to the bird photographer, and photo- 

 grajihs of adult birds on or at their nests are more 

 common than those taken under other conditions."' " 



Birds vary greatly in their attitude toward a 

 camera which has been erected near their homes ; 

 some species paying 

 little attention to it, 

 and, after a short 

 time, coming and go- 

 ing as though it had 

 always been there, 

 while otliers are sus- 

 picious of any object 

 which changes the 

 appearance of their 

 surroundings. 



With the latter 

 special precautions 

 are necessary, and 

 unusual care should 



be taken in working about their nests lest they be 

 made to desert it. The long-focus lens is here of 

 great service, for it enables one to secure a suf- 

 ficiently large image from a distance of ten or twelve 

 feet. Even then it will often be necessary to con- 

 ceal or disguise the camera by covering it with the 

 green dark-cloth, vines, and leaves. A rubber tube 

 or thread of requisite length is then attached and 

 the exposure is made from a distance. 



A dummy camera, com]iosed of a box or log 

 wrapped in a green clotli and placed on a tripod 



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