THE OSPREY. 



35 



will readily hop, and present the open door of 

 the cag'e for its consideration; it will at once 

 enter and sing as if glad to get back. 



It is so very glad to be alive, so joyous. 



Last summer it was taken to the country. 

 Two large cats were residents of the farmhouse. 

 ( )iie day, when nobody' was watching, these cats, 

 in trying to get at the bird, with a great clatter 

 upset its home. Never a note uttered Dusky 

 until the cage was set upright again when he 

 commenced to sing with all his might, whether 

 in defiance to the cats or in thanks to those who 

 rescued him, I, of course, cannot say. 



These statements inay appear almost incred- 



ible when made about a very common looking 

 canary bird, but every one of them is quite true. 

 It seems to be a case of "looks are nothing, it's 

 all in the behavior". 



He is perfecth' fearless: no swishing of clothes 

 nor sudden movements have the least power to 

 disturb his serene birdship. 



He was very young when purchased, yet began 

 to act as described from the very first day. 



Can it be that Ijack of him is a long line of 

 ancestry which have been tamed and well 

 trained? 



This seems to be the only explanation for his 

 marvelous conduct. 



THE SHEARWATERS AND FULMAR AS BIRDS AND BAIT. 

 Bv CapT. J. W. COIJ.INS. 



EDITORIAI^ INTRODUCTION. 



Many who have taken the trip northward to 

 Europe must have watched with interest from 

 the deck of the vessel in which they were travel- 

 ling, while crossing or near the Grand Bank of 

 Newfoundland, the numerous birds which are 

 to be seen in that region under favorable condi- 

 tions. These winged wanderers serve not a 

 little to relieve the tedium of a sea voyage. Of 

 the many records of such birds, Capt. J. W. 

 Collins has given in some respects the fullest. 



In accordance with the suggestion of a corre- 

 spondent in the last number of the Ospkey and 

 through the courtesy of the U. S. Fish Commis- 

 sion, we reproduce herewith a portion of Capt. 

 Collins' article called for therein. Capt. Collins' 

 article was entitled "Notes on the Habits and 

 Methods of Capture of various species of Sea 

 Birds that occur on the Fishing Banks off the 

 ea^tern coast of North America, and which are 

 used as bait for catching Codfish by New Eng- 

 land Fisherman". This is contained in the 

 tenth annual report (Part X) of the Commis- 

 sioner, being that for the year 1882 and published 

 in 1884, and extends from page 311 to 338. The 

 entire article is valuable and contains much 

 information that cannot be found elsewhere. 

 But that portion which relates to the Shear- 

 waters and Fulmar is the most complete, the 

 most interesting and the most pertinent to the 

 title, inasmuch as species of that genus [Pitffinus) 

 afford- or did afford — most of the bait. We 

 have, therefore, reprinted only Capt. Collins' 

 notes on the Shearwaters and the allied Fulmar. 

 Our limited space forbids giving more — at least 

 for the present. 



It should be remarked also that systematic 

 angling for birds to be used as bait is a feature 

 of the past, as it has been practically abandoned 

 now. Nevertheless its history is of interest and 

 the observations recorded may be borne in mind 

 by those who shall cross the ocean on the way 

 to Europe or crui.se on the Grand Bank. 



INTRODUCTORY NOTE. 



For many years after the introduction of 

 trawl-line fishing in New England bii'ds were 

 extensiveh' used for bait to eke out the supply 

 obtained from other sources, and even prior to 

 the time when trawls came into use old fisher- 

 men say that they caught birds on the banks 



with which they baited their hand lines. Sev- 

 eriil varieties of birds were obtained for bait, 

 principal among which may be mentioned the 

 hagdons (PiiJ/?//its ifiajor and P. fiilii^inosics); the 

 jaegers, of several species ; fulmars, gulls, and 

 petrels or Mother Carey chickens. 



Birds were used much more extensively' before 

 1875 than they have been since, as of late years 

 it has generally been found more profitable to 

 depend on other sources for a bait supply. 

 They have never been used for bait in any great 

 numbers, except by trawling schooners on the 

 Grand Bank, and these vessels were said to be 

 engaged in "shack-fishing". 



The term "shack-fishing", it may be explained, 

 owes its origin to the kind of material used as 

 bait, the word "shack" being applied to refuse 

 or offal. The vessels procuring fares in this 

 manner were called "shack-fishermen." They 

 usually resorted to the Banks in earU* spring, 

 carrying a limited amount of salt clams, salt 

 squid, or menhaden slivers, which were intended 

 to be used in commencing the fishing season, 

 and to eke out any deficiency which might oc- 

 cur in the bait supply. The fishing being well 

 under way, the crews depended upon such bait 

 as they could procure on the Banks, such as 

 birds, small halibut, porpoises, and sometimes 

 codfish; all of which, together with the con- 

 tents of the stomachs of the cod, which often 

 consisted largely of bank clams and occasionally 

 young sqviid and capelin, were called "shack", 

 or "shack bait". 



A fisherman preparing a bird for shack-bait 

 cuts off the feet, tail, and neck; then, making a 

 cut across the breast, he strips off the skin and 

 throws it overboard. Having removed the skins 

 and viscera (the latter makes an excellent bait) 

 from as many birds as he has at hand, he pounds 

 the bodies with the back of a heavy knife or 

 stick, breaking the bones, or, as he would term 

 it, "mummies them up". This beaten and 

 bruised mass of flesh and bones is then cut up 

 into small pieces of suitable sizes to be used as 

 bait. At this point the fisherman is influenced 

 by the number of birds he has on hand. Should 

 the supply be bountiful, he divides the bodies 

 into comparatively large sections, while, on the 

 other hand, if the birds are scarce, he must ex- 

 ercise the strictest economy, and subdivides the 

 material into correspondingly small pieces, large 

 enough only to "point the hook", while an infer- 



