. Bird-lore . eir little family to visitors, which was done by holding a hand mirrorabove the nest. It happened that the rose bushes which bordered the veranda had been The Friendly Phoebe 77 injured by frost during the previous winter, and many dead shoots extendedabove the green foliage. Upon these shoots the Phoebes also very oftenalighted, when bearing food to their young and, after the food was delivered,it was common for them to drop again to one of these perches for a briefreconnoissance of the field before starting off on another air-raid. As the rosebushes were in the sun, we saw here
. Bird-lore . eir little family to visitors, which was done by holding a hand mirrorabove the nest. It happened that the rose bushes which bordered the veranda had been The Friendly Phoebe 77 injured by frost during the previous winter, and many dead shoots extendedabove the green foliage. Upon these shoots the Phoebes also very oftenalighted, when bearing food to their young and, after the food was delivered,it was common for them to drop again to one of these perches for a briefreconnoissance of the field before starting off on another air-raid. As the rosebushes were in the sun, we saw here an opportunity for photography, andtherefore pruned off all the bare shoots but one—a conspicuous and favoriteone below the nest. The sole resting-place we had left was entirely satis-factory to the Phoebes, and they used it frequently. By setting the cameraon the veranda and focusing it upon the dead shoot, it was a simple matterto secure close-up and characteristic portraits, without blind or When it became evident from the restless shifting of the young Phoebes inthe nest that they would soon be leaving their already overflowing cradle,we>decided to add their picture to the series we had already secured of theirparents. So we gently removed them from their nest and arranged them ona branch before the camera. During this operation one of the five escapedfrom us by flying over the hedge and becoming lost in the standing hay, butwe photographed the four others in various poses, and then returned them totheir nest. Only two of them were content to remain in their old nursery,however, and then only one night longer. For several days thereafter we oftensaw all five of the birdlings, whose unceasing demands upon their parentskept them hustling for food. We never observed any of the babies attemptto gather a meal for himself, though sometimes one of them would follow theflight of an insect with an interested movement of his head. Then, with that suddenness which
Size: 1929px × 1295px
Photo credit: © Reading Room 2020 / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., boo, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectbirdsperiodicals
