4 



LEAFLET 9 6, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



of the pole and hang head down. Birds that retain their perch on 

 the top of the pole may have one or both legs so injured that it will 

 be necessary to kill them. These troubles can be avoided in part 

 by attaching the chain of the trap to a large ring around the pole, 

 or to a smaller ring on a wire, so that the trap will slide to the ground 

 when it is moved from the top of the pole. This permits any useful 

 bird that has not been crippled by the first grip of the trap to be 

 released alive. 



The number of pole traps may be greatly reduced and the effective- 

 ness of those in use retained, by tapering the tops of the fence posts 

 to a point, or guarding flat-topped posts by inserting in each an erect, 

 slender wire to prevent large birds from perching upon them. By 

 so treating all the fence posts except selected posts or poles that are 

 provided with traps, the large birds will be forced to alight on the 



Figure 3. 



-A hawk trap said to have a highly selective record in catching hawks of the 

 blue-darter group. Photo by courtesy of Alvin F. Hahus. 



latter. Some hawks habitually perch to watch for rodents and other 

 prey, and while these hawks are of the species least destructive to 

 birds, they are the very ones most frequently caught. in pole traps. 

 The bold, dashing bird hawks are more likely to come skimming 

 over the tops of fences and pounce without pause upon the first victim 

 that offers. 



Not only should the number of pole traps be reduced to the 

 minimum, however, but the objectionable features of those in use 

 should be lessened. Breaking the legs of larger birds can be pre- 

 vented by wrapping the jaws of the trap near the ends with hard cord 

 sufficiently thick to keep the jaws well separated when the trap is 



