267



on Bird-Catching in India.



attempts to fly off with it, when its extended wings become

stuck fast to the stick. A Crow alights upon the stick, and is

held by its feet. The most usual methods of catching Hawks is

by having as a bait a live pigeon, secured by a string. The

catcher erects a hut or a screen of grasses on a plain frequented

by Hawks, and secrets himself within. A Hawk, upon seeing

the pigeon, darts down upon it, when the man gradually draws

the captive pigeon, and the Hawk too, within reach of his hands.

The hungry Hawk thinks that the pigeon is escaping, and so,

utterly regardless of its own safety, clutches on more fiercely,

and allows itself to be captured. To keep the pigeon from

fluttering at the sight of the Hawk, the poor bird is often blind¬

folded in the same manner as the Fruit-sucker, already described.

The most simple way I know of catching Crows is often resorted

to by natives. It consists in taking a live Crow, and placing it

upon its back on the ground, with extended wings; these are

kept in position by being tied to two pegs, driven in the ground.

The Crow’s friends believe in “ hitting a man when he is down ” :

no sooner do they see him lying in a state of helplessness than

they come to bully, tease, and trample on him. But the help¬

lessness of the captive Crow does not extend to his feet, for in a

vice-like grip of his claws, he clutches his tormentor, and holds

him until the watching catcher transfers him to his basket!


I will now pass on to describe what I consider the most

interesting and sporting of all methods of bird-catching—the

using of bird-lime in an “active” sense. The accompanying

photo, of a bird-catcher was taken at Lucknow. In his right

hand are a number of thin bamboos, all furnished with a hollow

joint at one end, so that they may be fitted together upon the

principle of a chimney sweep’s brush, or a fishing-rod. Each

bamboo is about five feet long, and every catcher carries from

four to eight of them. At the end of the topmost joint a forked,

limed twig, about a foot long, is inserted. When not in use, the

twig is carried in the bird lime receptacle—a thick, hollow

portion of bamboo about a foot long—which is seen in the photo,

stuck in the right side of the catcher’s loin cloth. The flat,

circular basket at the man’s left elbow is for putting the birds in,

when caught. When the catcher sees a bird in a tree overhead.



