Bird World 
Notes. 
(166) 
THE BIRD WORLD. 
Bird World Notes. 
From My Old Diary. 
By T. H. KINCH. 
Perhaps these notes from my old diary may be 
of interest to your numerous readers. From a 
child I have always had pets of some kind— 
either cats, rabbits, rats, mice, or birds. I have 
kept rabbits by the hundred as a boy, and, had 
I known as much about them as I do now, 
should have established a new variety—one with 
black ears, nose, and feet, with a fawn body. 
But “ Cage Birds ” is not a rabbit paper, so I 
must not trespass. I had a quite young Canary 
given me as a birthday present, which turned 
out to be a hen. I was at that time about seven 
years old. I was advised to get a mate for it, 
and as I could not get a Canary one given me, I 
borrowed a cock Goldfinch to put with it. I 
put them together, never thinking that I should 
have to put in building materials, so the eggs 
she laid were all broken at the cage bottom. 
Then the Goldfinch died; and that was my first 
start in Mule breeding. This simple instance 
left such an impression on my mind that I then 
began to study birds, and to keep them. In 
those days there were plenty of people to give 
me advice, but I am afraid their advice was. 
like my knowledge, worthless. 
I had, the next year, a nest of young Thrushes 
given me, which I hand reared. I saved three 
out of four. The food I gave them was milk 
sop and barley-meal made into a paste, with a 
few worms daily. Only one was I allowed to 
keep; the rest I gave away. This one, in spite 
of all the rough treatment it received, I kept for 
years; it was a good singer. I might here state 
that my parents were very strict, and made me 
write in a large entry book all which took place 
respecting my birds, also the food, etc., I gave 
them. I did not like this task at all, but I had 
to do it or else give up my birds. Many a time 
since have I been thankful for this discipline, 
which I commend to young beginners. Many 
a good half-hour have I spent going through 
my old diary, and many a laugh have I had over 
my simplicity. When I was first advised to put 
a large stone in my Thrushes cage and give 
them snails to crack I was amazed, and could 
not credit a bird having that knowledge; but 
after watching it and seeing the results I found 
that my adviser’s knowledge was superior to 
mine. 
In the early seventies no bird papers reached 
the country, so I had to store up the knowledge 
gained and note it down for further guidance, 
which proved very useful as I grew up. The 
friend who advised me as to my Thrush was an 
under-gardener in a large establishment. He 
taught me how to catch birds; he used to set a 
hollow basket-lid with twigs twisted, and baited 
underneath. Before long I became quite expert 
in this mode of capture, but at the present time 
I cannot think how it was done. As we had 
several of these traps about, it was very interest¬ 
ing to go the round of them. They were 
always placed on the outskirts of a wood, and 
many a good bird was taken. One morning we 
had a black and white Blackbird under one of 
the traps—a cock bird with white wings, which 
my friend said was worth £5. I doubted that 
a bird could be worth that amount, but he did 
sell it to a fancier in Norwich for that sum. 
He also caught and sold several Goldcrest 
Wrens. These were then thought a lot of, but 
I doubt now if they were exhibited in those days. 
We soon began clap-net catching. We made a 
net from old fishing nets, and caught all 
kinds of birds. My friend, of course, had the 
pick, and sold them in Norwich; I had what he 
did not want, and put them in an old outhouse 
with several thicknesses of net over the doorway, 
the door being missing. I placed branches of 
trees for them to perch on. 
The varieties caught were Linnets, Chaffinches, 
and Greenfinches (in great numbers), Hedge 
Sparrows, Thrushes, Blackbirds, and Redwings. 
After keeping them through the winter I gene¬ 
rally gave them liberty in the spring, and used 
the outhouse for young Woodpigeons, Jays, and 
Hawks, which I used to hand-rear and sell for 
pocket-money. I was also a good hand at bird¬ 
nesting and collecting eggs. At one time I had 
a fine collection. At that time I was living with 
a relative on a large estate, so I had plenty of 
opportunities of collecting, but nearly always got 
into conflict with the keepers, as their preserves 
were my best hunting ground. On one occa¬ 
sion I was up a fir-tree, and the head keeper 
managed to get within a few yards of me. I 
slid down the branches, when he raised his gun 
as if to shoot me. This did frighten me con¬ 
siderably, for I thought he was in earnest; but 
when I told my friend he laughed at me, and 
advised me not to take any notice of the gun, 
but to run at once if the gamekeeper cut a stick, 
as that was more like business. On another 
occasion I was up a hollow tree, after an Owl’s 
nest, when the gamekeeper again got close to 
me. In coming down I got my foot in an open¬ 
ing of the tree and fell, and on the arrival of 
the keeper I was hanging head downwards. He 
threatened to have his revenge, but the affair 
ended in a little lecture. I told him what eggs 
I was after, and he helped me to get them, as 
he was “ death ” on all Owls, ignorantly be¬ 
lieving that they destroyed the Pheasants. I 
have seen over twenty Owls on his “ varmint ” 
pole, besides Jays, Crows, and Hawks. This 
used to be a sight in the spring, and one which 
he was delighted to show anyone. The pole 
was also utilised for cats, dogs, polecats, stoats, 
and weasels, and my one-time enemy was 
always good enough to tell me the distinction 
