278 



WITH NATURE AND A CAMERA. 



BIRD-CALL 



Bird-catchers generally work in pairs, and whilst 

 one man attends to the nets the other beats the 



adjoining ground in order 

 to send the birds towards 

 his companion, who imitates 

 their call to perfection with a 

 W^ Jj:* little tin instrument made in 



wMRp the form of a flattish drum 



with a hole through the 

 centre. This is placed be- 

 tween the caller's lips, and the 

 desired notes reproduced by 

 forcing the breath quickly through it. Mr. Sways- 

 land astonished me by his skill in fetching flocks 

 of Larks in full flight from considerable altitudes to 

 the ground with 

 it, and quickly 

 taught me how 

 to use it with 

 effect. 



We next vis- 

 ited a man who 

 had his nets 

 spread along a 

 steepish hillside. 

 He had seven 

 call-birds, con- 

 sisting of two 

 Linnets, a Gold- 

 finch, Greenfinch, 

 Chaffinch, Siskin, 

 and Redpoll, 

 each in a small 



green cage, disposed as represented in our illustra- 

 tion on page 279. He had also four "Jackey- 

 birds," attached to playsticks situated between the 



CALL-BIRD CAGE 



