34 SUGGESTIONS AND DIRECTIONS FOR FIELD-WORK. 



with all small birds, by suffocation. The respiration and cir- 

 culation of birds is very active, and most of them die in a few 

 moments if the lungs are so compressed that they cannot 

 breathe. Squeeze the bird tightly across the chest, under the 

 wings, thumb on one side, middle finger on the other, forefin- 

 ger pressed in the hollow at the root of the neck, between the 

 forks of the merrythought. Press firmly, hard enough to fix 

 the chest immovably and compress the lungs, but not to break 

 in the ribs. The bird will make vigorous but ineffectual efforts 

 to breathe, when the muscles will contract spasmodically ; but 

 in a moment more, the system relaxes with a painful shiver, 

 light fades from the eyes, and the lids close. I assure you, it 

 will make you wince the first few times ; you had better habit- 

 ually hold the poor creature behind you. You can tell by its 

 limp feel and motionlessness when it is dead, without watching 

 the sad struggle. Large birds obviously cannot be dealt with 

 in this way ; I would as soon attempt to throttle a dog as a 

 loon, for instance, upon which all the pressure you can give 

 makes no sensible impression. A winged hawk, again, will 

 throw itself on its back as you come up, and show such good 

 fight with beak and talons, that you may be quite severely 

 scratched in the encounter ; meanwhile, the struggling bird 

 may be bespattering its plumage with blood. In such a case 

 in any case of a large bird making decided resistance I 

 think it best to step back a few paces and settle the matter 

 with a light charge of mustard-seed. Any large bird once 

 secured may be speedily dispatched by stabbing to the heart 

 with some slender instrument thrust in under the wing care 

 must be taken too about the bleeding ; or, it may be instantly 

 killed by piercing the brain with a knife introduced into the 

 mouth and drawn upward and obliquely backward from the 

 palate. The latter method is preferable, as it leaves no out- 

 ward sign, and causes no bleeding to speak of. With your 

 thumb, you may indent the back part of a bird's skull so as to 

 compress the cerebellum ; if you can get deep enough in, with- 

 out materially disordering the plumage, or breaking the skin, 

 the method is unobjectionable. 



