THE INDIAN POACHER AND HIS WAYS 255 



about ten by seven inches. When the duck are flighting in 

 the evening or early morning those passing just above the 

 water in the direction of the snare are, unless they spot it 

 in time and rise over it, caught by the neck and hang in this 

 position until the snarer comes to fetch them. The method 

 is successful, since it is not easy to see the line in the gloaming 

 until the birds are up to it and almost impossible to perceive 

 the much finer nooses. 



Another method is to peg down a line, or lines, of horsehair 

 nooses on the edge of a jhil and place a little rice in each 

 snare, the snares being of course on the ground. The lines 

 of nooses are all attached to a strong main line. This method 

 does not appear to be quite as successful in its results as the 

 former since it is common to find many more coots in the 

 snares than duck. 



Kingfisher 



Liming. — I have already mentioned the bird-man 

 (chirya walla) whose occupation is catching birds by liming. 

 He is a common sight. He uses a long pole which can be 

 extended to a considerable length by jointed pieces. It 

 would be of very considerable interest, as it is of importance, 

 to know the number of useful birds which this professional 

 bird-catcher secures in the year. 



He catches the large kingfisher by staking out a captured 

 bird near the water and placing sticks of bird-lime close by. 

 The free bird comes down to fight the staked one and is bird- 

 limed and taken. 



Egret 



Net. — Some species of egret are of value for their 

 plumage. A merciless war has been waged upon them and 

 there is every danger that the species will become extinct. 

 Since the plumage is borne in the breeding season the 

 indiscriminate destruction of the birds by netting, shooting 

 and so forth results in the young nestlings who have lost 

 their parents inevitably dying. No species, however 

 abundant and prolific, can stand this sort of merciless 

 warfare waged on it without disappearing. If the plumage 

 sellers are really concerned in maintaining the supply of 

 articles of this nature for their commercial operations, 

 it is time they asked the various Governments in the 

 countries from which they draw them, to institute such 

 methods of collection as shall ensure the proper preservation 

 of the species. 



