CATCHING BIRDS. 29 



loose, which I believe is considered by them to be 

 pleasing to the Almighty. 



It is extremely wonderful to see to what per- 

 fection the natives train their tame pigeons, of 

 which there are great varieties in India; scarcely 

 a village being without them. In the middle of 

 their market places, may be often seen families 

 living in huts, not much larger than pigs' houses, 

 yet each family keeping forty or fifty pigeons in 

 boxes or cages. They take them out to fly, 

 regularly two or three times every day ; as soon 

 as the box or cage is opened the pigeons ascend 

 into the air, and when their owner thinks they 

 have had exercise enough, he calls them by whist- 

 ling loudly; upon which they immediately de- 

 scend, and fly straight into the cage or box. They 

 are sometimes allowed to run about the streets to 

 pick up grain strewed by the market people, but 

 they return to their houses whenever called. 

 Many of them have brass bells fastened to their 

 legs, which tingle as they run about; I believe 

 they are put on chiefly for ornament, yet I think 

 it probable that they keep off kites and hawks 

 from darting on them. 



The natives are not only expert at training 



