BIRDS WITH A HANDICAP 



over the grass as though badly wounded, to tempt us 

 to follow her. 



Though I knew of various Nighthawk locations, and 

 found their eggs from year to year, this bird was es- 

 pecially tame, and was my preferred stalking-horse for 

 photographs. I first snapped her in 1900, using a 

 thread, from a distance. Every season she set up 

 business at the old stand, and in 1907 I found her — late, 

 like the Whippoorwill — on the first day of July with two 

 fresh eggs. By creeping up very carefully and making 

 every movement slowly, I was able to place the camera, 

 on the tripod, within less than a yard of her, and took 

 as many pictures as I needed, without having to retire 

 and wait. Ned tried to "get" her that day with the 

 camera, but he was in too much of a hurry and scared 

 her off; but later he snapped her with the "Reflex," 

 as she sat on a rock. 



On July sixteenth the eggs were evidently about to 

 hatch, and the Nighthawk was tamer than I had ever 

 known one to become. Not only could I photograph 

 her, but I poked her with a short stick and made her 

 stand up and raise her wings beside the eggs without 

 flying. On the nineteenth I found the young hatched, 

 the eggshells still lying near by on the rock. It was well 

 that I photographed the singular little striped fellows 

 when I did, for next day the field was mowed. The 

 men put the little birds on a higher rock so that they 

 might not be injured, but a few days later, when I came, 

 they had disappeared. Either the old birds moved 



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