PART I.—BIRDS.
CHAPTER I.—COLLECTING.
Section I.: Trapping, etc.—Several devices for securing birds for specimens may be successfully practised, one of the simplest of which is the box-trap, so familiar to every schoolboy. If this be baited with an ear of corn and placed in woods frequented by jays, when the ground is covered with snow, and a few kernels of corn scattered about, as an attraction, these usually wary birds will not fail to enter the trap. I have captured numbers in this way, in fact, the first bird which I ever skinned and mounted, was a blue jay, caught in a box-trap. I was only a small boy then, so I do not now remember what first suggested mounting the bird, but the inherent desire to preserve the specimen must have been fully as strong then as in later years, or I never could have brought myself to the point of killing a bird in cold blood. In fact, putting the bird to death is the worst of trapping; and with me, unless I do it at once, during the first excitement of finding the bird entrapped, the deed is likely never to be done at all. Sparrows, snow-buntings, and in fact nearly all birds of this class may be caught in box-traps in winter. For these small birds, scatter chaff over the snow so thickly as to conceal it, then use a spindle upon which canary-seed has been glued, for bait, scattering some of the seed outside. Other traps, however, may be used more successfully for fringilline birds. For example, the clap-net trap, where two wings, covered with a net, close over the birds, which are attracted by seeds strewn in chaff, scattered in the snow. This trap, which is similar to those used by wild-pigeon catchers, is sprung by means of a long cord, the end of which is in the hands of a person who is concealed in a neighboring thicket or artificial bower. A very simple trap, but excellent for catching sparrows, may be made by tilting a common coal sieve on one edge, keeping it up by means of a stick which has a cord attached to the middle (see [Fig. 1]). The birds will readily go under the sieve, in search of food, when the trapper, who is concealed at a short distance, jerks out the stick by means of the cord; the sieve falls and the birds are captured. This trap requires constant watching, which, in cold days, is not very pleasant; thus a much better trap may be found in one of my own inventions, which is called the “Ever-ready Bird Trap.” It is made of strong netting stretched over wire, and is placed on the ground or on a board in a tree. A decoy bird, of the same species as those to be captured, is procured if possible, and placed in the back of the trap at [Fig. 2], and then the birds enter the front of the trap, B; pass through the way of wires, C, which pointing backward after the manner of the well-known rat-trap, prevent their egress. This trap is constantly set, and several birds are captured at one time. Orioles, bobolinks, rose-breasted grosbeaks, goldfinches, snow-buntings, all other sparrows and finches, in fact, all birds which will come to a decoy or bait, may be taken in this trap.
Fig. 1.
Fig. 2.