TRAPPING. 37 



sheet-iron, or zinc, is used for a lid. One end of it should 

 rest in the bottom of the box at the extreme end, and the 

 other end must rest on the top of the opposite end of the 

 box. A small peg, two and one half inches high, with an 

 even end, is driven into a hole in the bottom of the trap. 

 On this peg rests the flattened end of a short-forked spin- 

 dle, held in position by the weight of the lid which rests 

 on a small wooden pin. The bait is thrown into the bot- 

 tom of the trap, which is sprung by the weight of the 

 bird as it alights on the spindle. This trap can be hastily 

 made with four bricks buried in or set on the surface of 

 the ground. With it I have trapped many Blue Jays late 

 in the fall and winter, and it is the only trap I have 

 known these cunning birds to enter. 



The ordinary trap-cage is successful, but the usual 

 '^^ market "-cage is not j^roperly made. A trap-cage 

 should be long, with the apartment for the call-bird in 

 the middle, raised in a semi-oval form between the trap- 

 doors, so that the decoy bird is plainly seen from a dis- 

 tance. 



Snares for trapping birds will be found useful, placed 

 in natural hedges, gateways, and holes in trees. In the 

 breeding season, when a nest of eggs is found, the old 

 birds may be taken with a thin horse-hair snare, attached 

 to a light rod. In this manner the collector can obtain 

 a set of eggs and birds complete by destroying but one 

 nest. 



Some recommend bird-lime for holding birds, but it is 

 so glutinous and adheres so tightly to the plumage, that 

 specimens taken with it can seldom be used. 



Large folding nets, as described in the Chapter on Col- 

 lecting Insects, can be used in catching birds. Instead of 

 employing a gauze covering, a fine meshed net is desirable, 

 and should be used in the spring and fall, when birds are 

 migrating. In these seasons the birds roost in the thick- 

 est cover, particularly in evergreen trees. Two or more 



