HAWKS AND OWLS. 15 



hawks in Austria and elsewhere gives much opportunity for 

 the use of such snares, and quite a trade is carried on in live 

 falcons, or in their heads, for which antiquated municipal 

 laws offer a premium to the conscienceless pothunter ! 



Sometimes these passage hawks are taken by huge hand- 

 nets, similar in principle to the landing-nets used in fishing, 

 but very much larger. With these the hawk is caught by 

 the falconer, who is concealed near a pigeon tied by a string 

 to his hand, and suffered occasionally to fly a short distance. 

 The bird attracts the hawk, who makes a swoop, and is 

 dexterously caught by the falconer while its attention is thus 

 fully engaged. But one of the most successful nets in use, 

 the bow net, has only been mentioned in two or three works, 

 though there has been much curiosity on the subject. The 

 method and working is so clearly given in one of Beeton's 

 excellent little handbooks, I am tempted to reproduce it here. 



" Lanius excubitor is the bloodthirsty shrike's classic 

 appellation. Excubitor, or sentinel, applies to the bird's 

 vigilance in watching that no other bird, savage as himself, 

 approaches its nest. Falconers take advantage of this 

 peculiarity of the shrike to make him useful in the practice 

 of snaring hawks. Towards the end of the year, in October 

 and November, the hawks are on their passage to the 

 southern and warmer climes of Europe ; and at this season 

 the falconer can secure the most birds. He builds a low turf 

 hut in the open country, with a small opening on one side ; 

 at about a hundred yards distance from this hut, a pigeon 

 (usually a light- coloured one, to attract the hawk while 

 soaring high in the air) is placed in a hole in the ground, 

 which is covered with turf, and a string is attached to it, 

 reaching to the hut. Another pigeon is placed in a like 

 position on the opposite side, at the same distance from the 

 hut. At a dozen yards from each pigeon a small bow-net is 

 fastened to the ground, which is so arranged that the falconer 

 can pull it over, by a small piece of iron attached to the net, 

 and leading to the hut. The string by which the pigeon 



