B I R 



B I R 



pally taken during what is called their flight, or while they 

 congregate for the purpofe of propagating their fpecics. 

 The wild birds bei-in to fly in the month of October, and 

 part of the preceding and following months ; and the 

 flii^ht in March is much lefs confiderable than that of 

 Micha^lnnas. It is to be noted alfo, that the feverai fpecies 

 of birds of flight do not appear exaftly at tlie fame time, 

 but follow one another in fucccffion. The pippet, w'lich 

 is a fmall fpecies of lark, inferior in its f nig to otiicr birds 

 of that pcnus, begins his flight, every )ear, about Michael 

 mas; and then the; wood-lark, linnet, gold-finch, chafiinch, 

 green-finch, aid other birds of flight fucceed ; all of which 

 are not eafiiy to be caught, or in any number?, at any other 

 time, particularly the pippct and the wood-lark. Thcfe birds, 

 during the Michaelmas and March flights, are chiefly on the 

 wing from day-break to noon, thou ^h there is afterwards a 

 fmall fli'ht from two till night ; but this is fo inconfiderable, 

 that the birJ-catchers always take up their nets at noon. 

 Another circumllance worthy of notice is, that, during their 

 flitting, they always fly againil the wind ; hence the 

 bird-catchers eagerly contend for that point ; fo that if it 

 be wellerly, the bird-catcher, who lays hi» nets moft to the 

 eait, is fure almoft of catching every thuig, provided that 

 his call-birds are good : a gentle wind to the fouth-weft 

 generally produces the belt fport. The nets ufed by the 

 bird-catchers are about 12 yards long, and 2+ wide ; which 

 are known in moil parts of England by the name of " day- 

 nets," or " clap-nets," but the bell are thofe that are ufed m 

 the neighbourho id of London. Thefe nets are fpread upon 

 the ground parallel to one another, and at fuch a ditlance, that 

 when turned over, they Ihall coincide. The remaining ap- 

 paratus confifts of lines fo faftened to the nets that the bird- 

 catcher is able, by a fudden pull, to draw the net over the 

 birds that may have alighted in the fpace between their 

 parallel fides. Thcfe birds are enticed to alight by others 

 ufujUy denominated " call-birds ," of which there are gene- 

 rally five or fix linnets, two goldfinches, two greenfinches, 

 one woodlark, one red-poll, a yellow hammer, a titlark, and 

 an aberdavine, and perhaps a bullfinch. Thefe are pkced 

 at fmall diilances from the nets in little cages. Befides thefe, 

 the bird catcher has others called " flur-birds," which are 

 placed within the nets, raifed upon the flur, and gently let 

 down at the lime the wild birds approach them. This 

 •'flur" is a moveable perch tq which the bird is tied, and 

 which the bird-catcher can raife or deprefs at pleafure, by 

 means of a long firing fafl;ened to it. Thefe flur-birds gene- 

 r-illv confill of the linnet, the goldfinch, and the greenfinch, 

 which art attacried to the fiur by what is called a '• brace," 

 wiiich fecures the birds without injuring their plumage. This 

 brace is a fort of bandage, formed of a flv;nder fiikeii ftriiig, 

 that is fafl;ened round the body of the bird, and U'ider the 

 wings in fjch a manner at to prevent the bird's being hurt, 

 however it may flutter whea it is raifed. The call-birds 

 are particularly trained for the fervice to which they are 

 appropriated. Accordingly, the bird-catchers contrive to 

 improve the fong of thefe birds, by cauCng them to moult 

 before the ufual time. For this purpofe, they put them, 

 in June or July, into a clofe box, under two or three folds 

 of blankets, and leave their dung- in the cage to increafe 

 their heat ; and in this ftate they continue, being, perhaps, 

 examined once a week to have fre.Ti water. The air of the 

 cage is fo putrid, that they want httle or no food, as they 

 eat fcarcely any thing during the whole period of their con- 

 finement, which is about a month. The birds frequently 

 die under this operation ; and on this account the " itopped 

 bid," as It is called, is the more valuable. W1ien the bird hath 

 thus prematurely moulted, he is " in fong," while the wild 



birds are " out of fong ;" and his note is louder and more 

 piercing than that of a wild one ; and his plumage is by this 

 procefs equally improved. The black and yellow in the wings 

 of the goldfinch, for example, become deeper and more vivid, 

 and acquire a very beauf.ful gh'fs, whif-h is not to be feen in 

 the wiid bird. The bil', which in the latter is likewifc black at 

 the end, becomes in the " Hopped bird" white and more taper, 

 as are alfo itolegs; and, in (hoit, there is as much difference be- 

 tween a wild and a Hopped bird, as there is between a horfe, 

 which is kept in bodycloths,and one at grafs. When the bird- 

 catcher hath laid his ets, he diipofes of his " call-birds" at 

 proper intervals ; and Penna: t obfenes, that a malicious joy 

 appear^ in thtfec il-birds, to bring the wild ones into th; fame 

 ftate of captivity ; and this is alfo the cafe with regard to the 

 decoy ducks. After they have feen or heard the approach of 

 the wild birds, which they obfervc long before it is perceived 

 by the biid-catchers, the intelligence is announced from 

 cage to cage, with the utmoil ecllacy and joy. The not^ 

 by which they invite them down, is not a continued fong, 

 like what the bird ufcs in a chamber ; but " fliori jerks," 

 as they arc calLd by the bird catchers, which are heard at 

 a great diftancc. So powerful is the afcendency of this 

 call over the wild birds, that the moment they hear it, they 

 alight on a fpot, within twenty yards of three or four bird- 

 catchers, which otherwife would never have attrafted their 

 notice. It alfo frequently happens, that if, by pulling the 

 ftring, half a flock only fhould be caught, the others who 

 have efcaped, will immediately return to the nets, and fliare 

 the fate of their companions ; and if only one bird (hould 

 efcape, that bird will ftiU venture into the fcene of danger, 

 till it be caught ; fuch is the fafcinating power which the 

 call-birds podefs with regard to the others. A bird, ac- 

 quainted with the nets, is by the bird-catchers termed a 

 " (liarper ;" and this bird they endeavour to drive away, as 

 they can have no fport, while it continues with them. Thefe 

 fportfmen frequently lay confiderable wagers, whofe call-bird 

 can "jerk" the longcil, as this circumllance determines their 

 fuperiority. With this view, they place them oppofite to 

 each other, near an inch of candle, and the bird that jerks 

 the oftencft, before the candle is burnt out, wins the 

 wager. Some birds have given 170 jerks in a quarter of aa 

 hour, and a lirmet has b--en known, in fuch a trial, to per- 

 fevere in its emulation, till it iwooned from the perch ; thus, 

 as Pliny (1.x. c. 29.1 fays of the nightingale, " viClamorte 

 fiiiit faspe vitam, fpiritu prius deficitnte qiiam cantu." 



It is obfervable, that bird-catchers immediately kill the 

 hens of every fpecies of birds they take, as they are inca- 

 pable of finging, and inferior in plumage. The pippets, 

 likewifc, are indifcriniinately dtilroved, as the cock does 

 not fing well. The dead birds are commonly fold for three- 

 pence or four-pence a dozen. The flefh of thefe is regarded 

 as a dehcate acquifition ;>t the tables of the luxurious; and 

 yet the tafte for fmall birds is far from being fo prevalent 

 in England as it is in Italy, where tiiey are eaten under the 

 name of " beccaficos." However, t!ie luiiury of the modern 

 Italians will appear to be parfimony, when compared with 

 the extravangance of their predecelTors tlit Romans. (See 

 Clod'wi TEsop.) The highell price given for linging birds 

 in Loi don, Mr. Pennant informs us, is about fi\'e guineas ; 

 this funi having been paid for a chafiinch, that had a parti- 

 cular ard uncommon note, under which it was intended to 

 train oti ers, and five pounds ten (hillings have been given for 

 a call-biro linnet. 



Mr. Pennant informs us, that when the titlarks are caught 

 in the be: inning of the feafon, it frequently hapoens, that 

 40 are tal.en witnout one female ; the cafe is the fame with 

 the wheatear, and probably with refpedt to other birds : and 



this 



