38 BIRD STUDIES WITH A CAMERA 
veniently vituperate the poor unoffending little 
bunch of feathers with its staring yellow eyes. The 
camera is then focused on the scolding perch and 
the photographer retires into the undergrowth, and, 
bulb in hand, waits for some bird to take the desired 
stand. 
A Catbird’s domain is chosen for the reason that 
this species is the alarmist of whatever neighbor- 
hood it may inhabit, and once its attention has been 
attracted to the Owl by “squeaking” or uttering 
the alarm notes of other birds, the photographer 
may subside and let the Catbird do the rest. 
The bird’s rage is remarkable, its fear painful. 
Should the Owl be near to the Catbird’s nest it will 
utter notes in a tone of voice I have never heard 
it use on other occasions. It loses all fear of the 
camera, and from the scolding perch screams at the 
Owl with a vehemence which threatens to crack its 
throat. One is glad to remove the offending cause. 
Other birds in the vicinity are of course at- 
tracted, and hasten to learn the meaning of the 
uproar. Often a bit of undergrowth, of which the 
Catbird was apparently the only feathered tenant, 
will be found to possess a large bird population. It 
is interesting to observe the difference in the actions 
of various birds as they learn the reason of the dis- 
turbance. On the whole, each species displays its 
characteristic disposition in a somewhat accentuated 
manner. The Blue-winged Warblers flit to and fro 
for a few moments and then are gone; the Chestnut- 
sided Warbler is quite anxious; the Maryland Yel- 
low-throat somewhat annoyed; the Ovenbird decid- 
edly concerned; the Towhee bustles about, but 
