84 



BIRD STUDIES WITH A CAMERA 



securing, with the aid of a telephoto, a picture^" of 

 two adult birds feeding well out of gunshot, and 

 with the assistance of climbers I reached the upper 

 branches of a tree some sevexity feet in height con- 



taining five nests whose 

 to nearly grown young. 



contents ranged from eggs 



With the ball-and-socket 



clamp the camera was 



* fastened to favoring 

 , limbs, and after three 

 hours' work several 

 satisfactory pictures of 

 young in the nest and 

 on the adjoining branch- 

 es were secured.""*^ Al- 

 though well able to de- 

 fend theniLelves, the 

 young assumed no such 

 threatening attitudes as 

 the American Bittern 

 strikes when alarmed, 

 from which perhaps we 

 may argue that they are 

 happily ignorant of the 



Kj^PJI^^B^SMKy^HB dangers which beset 

 lt^n|flfi^B|||^^3^H their ground-nesting re- 

 lative. 



As the sun crept up- 

 ward and the last fishers 

 returned, the calls of both old and young birds were 

 heard less and less often, and by ten o'clock night 

 had fallen on the rookery and the birds were all 

 resting quietly. Four o'clock in the afternoon was 

 evidently early morning, and at this hour the birds 



43. Young Niffht Iloroiis on brandies 

 near nest, se\'enty feet fron\ tlie 

 ground. 



