rsir.D STUDIES with a camera 



BIRD rnOTOGRAPIIY BEGINS AT IIDME 



HE influence exerted hy the camera 

 in creating new values for tlie 

 bird student is perhaps nowhere 

 more evident than in th(3 imme- 

 diate vicinity of one's home. 

 Even the view frinn our windows 

 possesses fresli significance as we 

 speculate on the probability of securing a desirable 

 picture from this or that point of vantage, while 

 birds to which long familiarity lias partially 

 dimmed our vision now become possible subjects 

 for our camera, and we find ourselves observing 

 their movements with an alertness l:)efore unknown. 

 In my own case, I have learned almost to tolerate 

 the House Sjiarrows, with which I have been at war 

 as long as memory serves me, for the pleasure found 

 in att(?mptiug to outwit these shrewd, independent, 

 impudent rats among birds ; and, on closer acquaint- 

 ance, they prove such interesting subjects for study 

 that, if tliiMr vocal ability equaled their intelligHaico, 

 they might be as generally li]<ed as they are hated. 

 So much foi' the magic of a sweet voice. As it is, 

 they possess a. greater variet}^ of notes tha,n they are 

 generall)' ci^Mliti'il with, and their conversational 

 powers undoubtedly exceed those of many accom- 

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