80 WILD LIFE AND THE CAMERA 



have given to Mrs. Bluebird ! How proud of her 

 family must she have been ! That is, if we can judge 

 the bird's point of view from what our own would 

 be under similar conditions. Perhaps to do so is 

 entirely wrong. And yet, after close study of birds 

 and animals one is forced to realise that the differ- 

 ence between theirs and human characteristics is 

 not so great as many would suppose. For, jealousy, 

 individual hkes and dishkes, selfishness, generosity, 

 the sense of common responsibihty — all of these 

 are to be found in even the smallest of birds. 



It was on the fourteenth day that two of the brood, 

 being somewhat stronger and larger than their 

 companions, climbed to the entrance of the nest 

 and took a general survey of the surroundings. 

 What thoughts were theirs as they saw for the first 

 time the beauty of the great world ! They balanced 

 themselves with considerable uncertainty, standing 

 with much of their weight on the tarsus (heel), for 

 their feet were still very weak, but owing to the 

 extreme sharpness of their toe-nails, they were able 

 to hold securely to the rough bark. 



It was at this time that we came into the story. 

 While strolling through the orchard in search of 

 material for bird photographs and study, we saw 

 the two young birds at the entrance of their nest. 

 Here was the chance I had been looking for — a 

 young Bluebird that could be pictured periodically 

 to show its growth and development. The fact 

 was very evident that if we wanted one of this 

 brood for a pet, and an object for study, there was 

 no time to lose, for within a few hours they would 

 all be leaving the nest ; accordingly we selected one 



