50 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXVIII. 
dition L>t the backs of the birds which I was able to examine care- 
fully on the Munnchur Lake, I am convinced that the pain inflicted 
by plucking, as the ^illagers do it, temporary as it may be, is certainly 
very considerable. It is also hard to believe that there are no 
permanent after effects, though I never found a single trace of one. 
The method they adopt however for extracting the feathers in Sind 
is undoubtedly disgraceful and all the pain inflicted could certainly 
be avoided. 
Breeding and Treatment of Young. 
1. When the nesting season approaches, in some cases old Egret nests 
are provided ; in others dried sticks and grass are given the birds 
with which to make their own nests. 
2. Sufficient quantities of nests or of other materials are provided to allow 
for every pair of birds who wish to nest. 
3. No perches are provided and the nest has to be made on the ground. 
4. The number of birds in each enclosure is not reduced when the nesting 
season approaches which leads to over-crowding. 
5. The young birds are not removed from the parent birds, nor are they 
fed in any separate way or on any other diet. 
6. The parent birds and their young are placed in separate enclosures 
and there is no interference with the natural bringing up of the 
young birds. 
7. On the young birds being fledged the terminal joint of the wing is cut 
and the new brood is then placed in a fresh enclosure, the parent 
birds being returned to their original enclosm’e. 
N.B. — On the Munnchur the parent birds are allowed to wander free with 
their young outside the enclosure. But on the young becoming 
fledged the same procedure is followed as above. 
Capture of Wild Birds. 
1. Comparatively speaking few wild birds are captured, and the stock is 
almost entirely renewed by breeding. 
2. In the Kambar district the villagers say that they imjMrt their new 
birds from the Punjab and that no trapping of any sort takes place 
in their district. 
N.B. — This is probablj- not true, but I could obtain little information about 
this actual fact. 
3. On the Munnchur, when wild birds are required, they are captured as 
follows : — 
A one inch mesh net is staked out on the ground when and where the 
Mahanas expect the wild birds to come. Round this net are 
placed stuffed decoys. When the wild bird alights he gets his 
feet entangled in the mesh of the net and is then easily caj)tured. 
The wing is then cut and the birds are put into an enclosure. 
4. There seems to be no special method of taming the newly captured birds. 
0. The method of starving wild birds as a means of taming them is not 
employed. 
N.B. — I myself know of one wild bird which was captured, slightly hurt, 
by a private individual. On being cured, which took only a few 
days, it was handed over to the Mahanas on the Munnchur who 
placed it straight into an enclosure with the other already tame birds. 
Transportation of Birds. 
1 . The cages employed for transportation, either by rail or otherwise, are: 
Size : — 3 feet by 3 by 3. 
From 15 to 20 birds are placed in these cages. 
