WILD DUCK. 



171 



the decoyman has worked them sufficiently np the pipe to 

 enable him to show himself at one of the openings between 

 the wild birds and the entrance from the lake, the oblique 

 position of the reed screens enabling all the birds in the pipe 

 to see him, while none that are on the lake can. The wild- 

 fowl that are in sight hasten forward, their retreat being cut 

 off by the appearance of the man whom they dare not pass. 

 The decoyman then moves on to the next opening, waving 

 his hat if necessary, and the wild birds are thus driven along 

 till they enter the tunnel net and are all taken, a twist of the 

 net prevents them getting back. The decoyman then takes 

 the net off from the end of the pipe with what fowl he may 

 have caught, takes them out one at a time, dislocates their 

 necks, hangs the tunnel on to the net again, and all is ready 

 for working afresh. 



I am indebted to the Rev. Richard Lubbock for the fol- 

 lowing account of the mode of making a decoy, supplied him 

 by a friend in Norfolk. 



