70 
BIRDS IN A VILLAGE. 
Doubtless the man really believed that but for 
the laborious days that bird-catchers spend the 
human race would be very badly off. 
Just after he had finished his protest three or 
four linnets flew down and were caucrht. Takino^ 
them from the nets, he showed them to me, remark- 
ing, with a short laugh, that they were all young 
males. Then he thrust them down the stocking- 
leg which served as an entrance to the covered box 
he kept his birds in — the black hole in which their 
captive life begins, where they were now all vainly 
fluttering to get out. Going back to the previous 
subject, he said that he knew very well that many 
persons disliked a bird-catcher, but there was one 
thing that nobody could say against him — he 
wasn't cruel ; he caught, but didn't kill. Then he 
told me of the young nest-destroyer I have written 
about. It made him mad to see such things ! 
Something ought to be done, he said, to stop a boy 
like that ; for by destroying so many nestlings he 
was taking the bread out of the bird-catcher's 
mouth. Passing to other subjects, he said that so 
far he had caught nothing but linnets on the 
common — you couldn't expect to catch other kinds 
in June. Later on, in August and September, 
there would be a variety. But he had small hopes 
of catching goldfinches, they were too scarce now. 
Greenfinches, yellow-hammers, common buntings. 
