WHA T ANIMALS SEE 1 3 1 



gems used from time immemorial by hunters, the 

 use of colour as a lure for quadrupeds is notably 

 absent. Many birds, on the other hand, have a 

 marked preference for bright colours, and exhibit 

 strong curiosity when unusual tints are shown to 

 them. Among the less known examples is that of 

 the red-legged partridge. These birds abound in 

 the lower spurs of the Lesghian Mountains, near the 

 Caspian, and the native hunters use a device for 

 killing them based on this aesthetic preference of 

 the partridges. By the door of nearly every house 

 stands a wooden frame, on which canvas is stretched, 

 covered with daubs of brilliant colours. This the 

 shooter carries with him, and sets up in front of 

 him as soon as he has discovered a covey. As soon 

 as their attention is attracted he waits behind the 

 screen, until the whole covey run up to within shot, 

 and then fires through a loop-hole in the centre of 

 the screen. The Russian Government has now 

 forbidden the use of these coloured lures, as the birds 

 were being exterminated. It is probable that the 

 idea of their use was first suggested by the interest 

 the birds took in the carpet frames set up outside 

 the houses for weaving the brightly-coloured Shushak 

 rugs. 



Birds are commonly credited with an extraordinary 

 range of vision. Circumstances lend aid to the 



