9 BIRD STUDIES WITH A CAMERA 
stalks, rootlets, etc., lined with finer materials,” we 
have a faithful delineation of the nest itself. The 
shape and pattern of markings of the eggs may also 
be well shown with the camera, while the appear- 
ance of the young at birth, their development, and 
often the manner in which they are fed, may all be 
portrayed by the camera with a realism which con- 
vinces one of the truthfulness of the result. 
By the exercise of much patience and ingenuity 
we may also photograph the adult bird, showing it 
at rest or in motion, brooding its eggs or caring for 
its young. Under favorable conditions such pic- 
tures may possess an exactness of detail which 
makes them perfect representations of the original, 
giving not alone position and expression, but the 
arrangement of the feathers, and they then have 
scientific value unequaled by the best productions 
of the artist’s brush or pencil. 
From the nature of the case, perfection in this 
branch of bird photography is not always attained; 
nevertheless, even pictures which are failures from 
a photographic standpoint may be of interest to 
the naturalist. They may be lacking in detail and 
still give pose, thus furnishing models from which 
drawings containing all structural essentials may 
be made. 
The camera may also supply us with graphic 
records of the few large colonies of birds yet exist- 
ing in this country, thereby preserving for all time 
definite impressions of conditions which are rapidly 
becoming things of the past. 
What an invaluable addition to the history of 
the Great Auk would be a series of photographs 
