GEORGETOWN. 1 29 



very primitive. They know nothing of clap-nets; they laugh 

 at the idea of catching birds with an Owl, as practised 

 successfully in the North. A black boy will bend his 

 gummed wire securely on a likely twig, and lie all day on 

 his back in the shade, hoping that a bird may light on it. 

 Birds to whose capture they are not equal are very apt to 

 be "licked" — stunned by a bullet from a sling-shot — and 

 foisted on the unwary purchaser. These unfortunates, of 

 course, rarely live more than a day or two. 



No regard is shown for nesting birds or nestlings. Cas- 

 siques and Orioles are captured by adjusting a string about 

 the mouth of the long pendulous nest, and closing it lightly 

 when the bird has entered to hover its eggs. In two instances, 

 a black boy was seen to capture the female from her nest, by 

 creeping up and dropping his hat over her. 



Some use is made of primitive trap-cages, which are 

 baited with plantain or sliced mangoes. Tanagers or 

 " sackies " and various Orioles are taken in this manner. 



These simple people have, of course, no knowledge what- 

 ever of proper food for insectivorous or frugivorous birds. 

 Various fruits, preferably plantain, are used, and it is truly 

 surprising how long some individuals will survive on this 

 too acid food. Mr. Howie King, Government Agent of the 

 Northwest District, actually kept a specimen of the Yellow 

 Oriole '■"'" for over seven years on a strictly fruit diet! 



Birds and other creatures were very abundant and tame 

 in the Botanical Gardens. Guiana Green Herons ^** or 

 " Shypooks " as the coolies call them. Spur-winged Jacanas^'' 

 and Gallinules " walked here and there, the latter leading 

 their dark-hued young over the Regia pads. Small croco- 

 diles basked half out of the water, none over three feet in 

 length, as abundant as turdes in a northern mill-pond. 

 Several huge water buffalo, imported from the East Indies, 

 looked strangely out of place in this hemisphere. Butter- 



