SUGGESTIONS AND DIRECTIONS FOR FIELD-WORK. 17 



to kill them as quickly and as painlessly as i>os.sible, without iujuriug the plumage. Tliis is 

 to ho accomplished, with all small birds, by sufTocatiou. Tlie respiration and circulation of 

 birds is very active, and most of tliem die in a few moments if the lungs are so com))ressed 

 that they cannot breathe. Squeeze the bird tightly acidss tlie chest, under the wings, tliunib 

 on one side, middle finger on the other, forefinger i)ressed in tlie hoUoM- at tlie root of the neck, 

 between the forks of tlie merrythouglit. Press firmly, liard eu(jugh to fix tlie chest immovably 

 and compress the lungs, but not to break in the ribs. The bird will make \igorous but ineffect- 

 ual efforts to breathe, when tlic muscles will contract spasmcjdically ; but in a niiiment more, 

 tlie system relaxes with a painful shiver, hght fades from tlie eyes, and the lids close. I 

 assure you, it will make you wdnce the first few times ; you had lietter habitually hold the 

 poor creature behind you. You can tell l)y its limp feel and niotionlessness when it is dead, 

 «-ithout watching the sad struggle. Large birds obviously cannot be dealt with in this 

 «'ay ; I would as soon attempt to throttle a dog as a loon, for instance, upon whicli all the 

 pressure you can give makes no sensible impression. A winged hawk, again, will throw itsdf 

 on its back as you come up, and show such good fight with beak and talons, that you may lie 

 quite severely scratched in the encounter: meanwhile the struggling bird may be bespattering 

 its plumage with lilood. In such a case — in any case of a large bird making decided resist- 

 ance — I think it best to step back a few paces ami settle the matter with a light charge of 

 mustard-seed. Any large bird once secured may bo speedily dispatched by stabbing to the 

 heart with some slender instrument tlirust in under the wing — care must be taken too about 

 the bleeding ; or, it may be instantly killed by piercing the brain with a knife introduced into 

 the mouth and driven upward and obliquely liackMard fi-om the palate. The latter method is 

 preferable as it leaves no outward sign and causes nti bleeding to speak of. With your thumb, 

 you may indent the back part of a bird's skull so as to compress the cerebellum ; if ycju can 

 get deep enough in, without materially disoi'dering the plumage, or breaking the skin, the 

 method is unolijectionable. 



Handling Bleeding Birds. — Bleeding depends altogether upon the part or organ 

 wounded ; but other things being equal, violence of tlie liiemorrhage is usually in direct pro- 

 portion to the size of the shot-hole ; when mustard-seed is used it is ordinarily very trifling, if it 

 occur at all. Blood flows oftener from the orifice of exit of a shot, than from the wound of 

 entrance, for the latter is usually plugged with a little wad of feathers driven in. Bleeding from 

 the moutli or nostrils is the rule when the lungs are wounded. When it occcurs, hold up the 

 bird by the feet, and let it drip ; a general squeeze of the body in that position wiU facilitate 

 the drainage. In genera], hold a bird so that a lileeding place is most dependent; then, pres- 

 sure about the part will help the flow. A " gob" of blood, which is simply a forming clot, 

 on the plumage may often be dexterously flipped almost clean away with a snap of the finger. 

 It is first-rate practice to take cotton and forceps into the field to plug up shot-holes, and stop 

 the mouth and nostrils and vent on the spot. I f(dlow the custom of the books in recommend- 

 ing this, but I will confess I have rarely done it myself, and I suspect that only a few of our 

 most leisurely and elegant collectors do so habitually. Shot-holes may be found by gently 

 raising tlie feathers, or blowing them aside; you can of course get only a tiny plug into the 

 wound itself, but it should be one end of a sizable pledget, the rest lying fluffy among the 

 feathers. In stopping the mouth or vent, ram the fluff of cotton, entirely inside. You cannot 

 conveniently stop up the nostrils of small birds separately ; but take a light cylinder of cotton, 

 lay it transversely across the base of the upper mandible, closely covering the nostrils, and 

 confine it there by tucking each end tightly into the corner of the mouth. In default of such 

 nice fixing as this, a pinch of dry loam pressed on a blooding spot will plaster itself there and 

 stop further mischief. Never try to ivipe o^ fresh blood that has already wetted thi; plumage ; 

 you will only make matters vi'orse. Let it dry on, and then — but the treatment of blood- 

 .stains, and other soilings of plumage, is given beyond. 



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