4 o BIRD- CA TCHING. 



mornings and evenings ; dry days should therefore be 

 chosen for this chase. In the pairing season, two, 

 three, or even four quails may be taken at the same 

 place. 



If no male is heard in the field, the call of the female 

 must be well imitated on a larger and more powerful 

 bird-call, and, if any males are within hearing, they 

 will not fail to answer ; the person must then advance 

 quickly, placing the net so as to stop their road, and 

 repeat the call. 



When a female is to be caught, it is best to employ 

 a common net, such as is used to take quails in autumn ; 

 but this chase should be deferred till towards the end 

 of harvest, when most of the corn is cut, and only a 

 few pieces left standing, which serve to harbour 

 numbers of these birds. Several nets are used at once, 

 as many as six or eight ; some of them are placed across 

 the field of corn, and the others parallel to them at 

 the extremity of the same field : this being done, the 

 party go to the opposite side and begin to drive the 

 quails into the nets in the middle of the field by means 

 of a packthread stretched across the corn, having little 

 bells suspended to it by threads, so as almost to touch 

 the ground, two persons holding it, and as they ad- 

 vance shaking it from time to time. As soon as the 

 prisoners are secured, the march is continued towards 

 the nets at the end of the field ; and in this manner 

 great numbers of quails, both male and female, are 

 procured either for the house or for the table. 



Redbreast. In spring, when the redbreasts frequent 

 the hedges and bushes, sticks are passed transversely 

 through them, on which limed twigs are fastened, 

 then two persons gently beat the hedge or bush to 

 drive the birds towards the twigs, where they are soon 

 caught, for redbreasts have the habit of perching on 



