B I R 



Bird, gretn, the philofopher's llonc, at tlie time when 

 its (rrfcn colour appears. 



Birds, Cyprian, aves Cypncit, oraviciiU CyprU, is a deno- 

 miiiiition ijivcii to a kii:U of odorous candk-;. mads of tlie 

 matter of trociics, and burnt for tlie fake of tlitir fumes, 

 ca!li-d alfo, from their ligurc, bacii/i, or J/icis. 



BiKD of J/a-mes, avis, or aviniui Hcrmelka. Alchcmifts 

 fpeak much of tliat which flies in the night without wings. 

 Some will have liic avifula Hermd'ica to be an univerfal fait 

 prepared from dew. — It alio denotes red-lead. 



Birds, decoy, arc thofe which are trained up to call and 

 allure oth-.rs into the fowler's nets, fnares, Hme-twigs, or 

 thelike. See Decoy. 



Birds, Humming. See HummixG-W/-(/. 

 Birds, in Dnmejlic Economy, and i.. reference to their ufe 

 asalimeiits. See Fowl. 



Bird, in. Falconry, denotes a hawk, or falcon. See Fal- 

 con. Nides birds, aves nidularia:, denote thofe taken while 

 in the neft. Ramage birds, arboraris a-ves, are thofe only ar- 

 rived at llrength luflicieiit to fly from branch to branch. 

 Hagard bird, is that which has lived at liberty, and is thence 

 more wild and untradable. Bird of the JiJI, is that which 

 having been reclaimed, returns to, and ptrclies on the hand, 

 without the help of a lure. Bird of lure, lignifics that which 

 comes to the lure, and by ihat means to the hand. Bnjlard 

 bird, a hawk, for inllancc, bred of a hawk and a lanier ; or 

 a faker, bred of a laker and a lanier. Coicard birds, thofe 

 which only pmfue their game for their own belly, and which 

 are not to be reduced to juft fport ; as ravens, kites, &c. 



Bird, in Geography, the name of a fmall ifland in Dun- 

 mannus bay, in the county of Cork, Ireland. — Alfo, ano- 

 ther fmall idand in Strangford lougti, and county of Down. 

 —Alfo, one of the Bermudas iflands. — Alfo, a fmall ifland 

 in the gulf of St. Lawrence, 21 leagues W. of cape An- 

 guilla on the ifland of Newfoundland. N. lat. 47° ^^'. W. 



l(n g. 60° 45' Alfo, an ifland in the iouthern Pacific Ocean, 



difcovered by capt. Cook, in 1769, in his voyage from 

 Cape Horn to Otaheite, covered with verdure, and inhabit- 

 ed. S. lat. 17° 48'. E. long. 216" 24'. —Alfo, an ifland 

 in the fouthern Pacific Ocean, near the north weft coail 

 of the ifland of New Georgia, difcovered by capt. Cook, 

 in 1775. S. lat. 54°. W. long. 38° 22'. — Alfo, an ifland 

 of the fame ocean, difcovered in 1788, by the command- 

 er of the Prince of Wales, and fo called from its being 

 the refort of many birds. This folitary ifland, or rather 

 finglt rock, rifing out cf the immenfe ocean, was particu- 

 larly examined by Vancouver, in 1794. Its greateft ex- 

 tent, in a dire£lion S. 74 W. and N. 74 E. did not ex- 

 ceed one mile ; and its northern, eallern, and wellern extre- 

 mities, againil which the fea broke with great violence, 

 prefented a very awful appearance, rifing perpendicularly 

 from the ocean in lofty rugged cliffs, inaccefllble except to 

 its winged inhabitants; on its fouthern fide the afcent is not 

 fo lleep and abrupt ; and near its weftern extremity is a fmall 

 fandy beach, where in fine weatlier, and with a fmooth fea, 

 a landing might probably be efFeftcd. At this place was 

 the appearance of a little verdure, though it was dcllitute of 

 tree or flirub ; every other part was apparently without foil, 

 and confifted only of the naked rock. Tlie whole circum- 

 ference does not exeeed a league, and it is fituated in N. 

 lat. 23" 6'. E. long. 198° 8'. It lies from Onehow, one 

 of the Sandwich iflands, N. 51W. at the diftance of 39 

 leagues ; it is recognized by the natwes of thofe iflands under 

 the appellation of " Modoo Mannoo," that is, bird ifland; 

 and from its great dillance from all other iflands, and its 

 proximity to their iflands, it feeiiiS to claim fome prettn- 

 fione to be ranked iu the group of the Sandwich iflands ; 



B I R 



which fee.— Alfo, a fmall ifland near the north-eaft coaft of 

 New Holland, lying low and almofl: covered with birds ; 4 

 leagues N. W. from cape Grenville. For other iflands un- 

 der this denomination ; fee Aves. 



Bird/o;-/, an American fort on Monongahela river 40 

 miles fouth of Fort Pitt. 



Birds-A'cv, or Round ijland, a fmall ifland, or rock, 

 among the Virgin iflands, in the Well Indies ; 2 leagues S. 

 of St. John's ifland ; and 3 N. E. from St. Croix, or Santa 

 Cruz. N. lat. 17'" SS'- W. long. 64° 36'. 



Birds, Mejage, aves iittenwiici.e, deiujte thofe that are 

 employed to convey letters or other difpatclies, either for 

 the f;'ke of expedition or fafety. See Carrier-pigeon 

 and Aleppo. 



Bird, mociing, the ttirdus polyglot! us; which fee. See 

 alfo Mock bird. 



BiRD-boll, in Heraldry, is a fmall arrow with a blunt head, 

 and often rcprefented in armory, with two and fometimea 

 three heads rounded, but in that cafe the number of heads 

 muft be noticed. 



BiRD-call, a fmall ftick cleft at one end, in which is put 

 a leaf of fome plant, that ferves to counterfeit the call of 

 feveral birds, and to bring them to the net, fnare, &c. by 

 which they are taken. A laurel-leaf fitted on the bird-call 

 counterfeits the voice of lapwings, a leek, that of the night- 

 ingale, &c. See Call, and Bird-catching. 



BiRD-Catciiiig, in its moft comprehenfive fenfe, denotes 

 the art of taking birds or wild-fowl, either for food, or for 

 enjoying the pleafure of their long in cages, or for preventing 

 the dellruftion which fome fpecies of them occafion to the 

 hufbandman. Some recur to it as an amufing paltime, and 

 others piadlife it as a profitable employment ; and with a 

 view to one or other of thefe objtfts, various modes of taking 

 birds have been adopted, and the praftice is in fume places 

 reduced to a kind of fyftem. One of thefe methods is de- 

 nominated Bat-Fowling, or, as fome term it, Ba!-folding. 

 For this purpofe, five or fix perfons commonly provide them- 

 felves with a large net, expanding, when open, to the extent 

 of a man's arms, and about three yards high, and tormed of 

 meflies fo fmall as not to allow the efcape of the fmalleit 

 bird. The extremities of the net are attached to two poles, 

 held one in each hand of the perfon who has the manage- 

 ment of it. With this, and a large lanthorn affixed to a 

 pole, the party proceeds to corn-fields, out-houfes, yew- 

 hedges, thatched buildings, &c. The cords of the net being 

 feparated to their utxoft extent, it is placed before any 

 fpot where birds are fuppofed to rooft, and the light being 

 held before the centre of the net, the afliftants in this opera- 

 tion beat the hedges, ricks, eaves, &c. with poles ; aad the 

 birds, thus alarmed, fly towards the light, upon which the 

 perfon who holds the net claps its poles together, and en- 

 clofts the birds. From the latter circumllance, the net is 

 called a clap-net. Sparrows, larks, thruflies, and the other 

 fmall birds are thus cau;^ht in great numbers in dark nights. 

 Another method of bat-fowling, is performed by means of a 

 long net drawn over the ground, followed by a perfon bear- 

 ing a light ; and this net, in its paflagc, enclofes and con- 

 fines any birds that happen to be under it. But one of the 

 moll ingenious and fytlematic methods of bird-catching, is 

 pr;iClifed principally in the vicinity of London, by perfons 

 who find a ready market for birds nfed as food, or who 

 deal in fong-birds, which, at certain feafons of the year, 

 change their fiiuation, and arc hence denominated birds of 

 flight, in the language of this art. The birds, ufiialiy taken 

 on fuch occafions, are wood-larks, titlarks, linnets, aberda- 

 viiies, gold-linchcs, and green-finches. They are princi- 

 pally 



