Ornithological and Other Oddities 



ducks at all events seemed to be greatly dis- 

 tressed ; of course they were fed and watered, 

 but the supply was not kept up as it should 

 have been. 



There was nothing in their treatment, however, 

 to compare with the shameful ill-usage of wild 

 birds in the same market. These poor creatures 

 — ducks, snipe, and other birds passed off as 

 such — were netted or snared, and then kept 

 starving and thirsty until sold, or killed as a 

 last resort. The ducks often had their legs 

 dislocated, and the longer-legged birds were 

 frequently too cramped to stand, it being the 

 practice of the catchers to tie the birds' legs 

 together at the hocks by means of the long flight 

 feathers of the wings. The legs were untied 

 when the birds came to market, but of course 

 the mischief was then done. The smaller birds, 

 such as snipe and sandpipers, were kept tied in 

 bunches as if they were so many onions, and 

 handled just as carelessly. 



So thirsty were these poor things, that almost 



any bird one bought in the bazaar would greedily 



drink while held in the hand, to do which a wild 



creature must be sadly reduced. Of course 



attempts have been made from time to time to 



bring about an alteration of this state of affairs, 



but with little effect as yet, though I must admit 



that before my time, judging from accounts by 



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