Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-12-20
A BIRD CHARNIER TALKS.
He Tells How He Manages to Catch til
Feathered Songsters.

He Tells How He Manages to Catch the
Feathered Songsters.
ss(NOME IN" said the bird man to STAR
Sreporter, as the latter passed his door a
few days ago; tT want to show you genuine
bird charmer."
The reporter entered. Inside the store sit
ting on a box before the stove a tall, muscular
individual was stretched ont. He was dressed
in a full corduroy suit and a wide-brimmed
white hat on the sombrero order adorned his
head. This was the bird charmer. He looked
more like an elephant trainer.
eyes. I catch BIRDS said the bird charner
in reply to the reporters inquiry, ''but nv
speciality is hooking birds, although catch
anything that flies. But mocking birds are my
stand by and the little fellows earn me O good
living. How do I catch themg It takes two re-
plies for me to answer that question, for employ
as many means-liming them and trapping them
The first named method is simple and very
efficaciouJ.
Row TO LIME BIRD.
"Bird lime is a sticky substance and holds on
tightly to anything that touches it, How is it
made? Oh, I can't tell you. If did every
boy in Washington would be stuck on spar
rows" and the bird charmer laughed at his wit.
''As was saying this bird lime is very adhesive
and when a bird touches It he enters the bonds
Of slavery. When start out to use bird lime
generally select place where the birds are
thickest Taking ray lime pot in one hand and
a long fat stick in the other / smear the limbs
with the lime and do the same thing to T-shaped
perches which I stick in the ground. light
sprinkle of grain about the perches completes
the work. The frightened birds soon return
and those which are not caught in the trees fly
down to the perches to examine more critically
the food placed about them. The result is ap-
parent. I then gather in the birds and move
on to another spot.
TRAPPING IS DIFFERENT
''To trap them is entirely different. A cage is
used with two wing attachments, one on either
ranged with the help Of spring that their nor
for use the wings are pulled away from the
cage proper and held in that position by a Sec
tiOnal perch. These perches are SO sensitive
that the minute bird lights upon them he
falls and the wings close, shutting the bird in.
The bird is not hurt, but his pulse goes up to
1000 he's SO scared forgot to mention that
we use decoy bird-that is, a tame bird. He
is in the cage proper and his song draws the
others. That is the way we catch birds, but
the best mocking birds are hand raised-that is,
they are taken from their nests when three
weeks old and fed by hand. They are hardy
little fellows and rather enjoy being orphans.
RAISING MocKINa BIRDS.
"Great attention has to be paid to the food
Of these youngsters, for improper food and
| irregularity of meals breed sickness. Hard
boiled egg and potato is a very good food and
sp iders and little insects also do them a great
deal of good. Of course when the bird grows
older prepared mocking bird food should be
given 1t. great many people prefer hand
raised a neaS;t1ings to Young trapped birds You
| Hand-raised birds become attached to you and
soon learn tricks. The hardest part about the
sale Of mocking birds is the shipping Of them.
Every year I ship hundreds OF them to this
city, but the result is not very satisfactory.
| The express companies are not very particular
about the care they give the little fellows and
! they neglect in many instances to give them
water and the poor little fellows die"
THE FAULT ABOUT MocKINa BIRDS.
1.-THE great fault about mocking Birds" put
in the bird fancier, who was standing near by,
lis that it is difficult to distinguish the male
from the female"
| "Why, that's easy enough" added the bird
charmer, but o great many people do not
know how to distinguish the difference and un-
The way to tell the sex Of mocking bird is by
| its wing. To examine the wing Of mockinR
bird, the bird must be caught firmly in the
LETT hand and the wings extended to their full
the upper hide, the white covering win be OBJ
| served to be the longest Of the feathers near
est the tip Of the wing, md che extent Of the
white coloring win greatly diminish on the
feathers nearest the body. n the white mark.
ings are splashed with black and do not extend
exactly across the feathers the bird h female.
The female bird h Of little use, unless you de-
sire to breed. The bird does not sing at al,
but merely uttsS hsrsh, sharp cry. Il takes
shout three weeks for . knocking bird TO attain
its fuu size. There is Just one thing moro
want TO nay shout Che nocking bird, and that
b that consider him the finest feathered song
| ster In the world. He commences to sing q
early - eight weeks Old, and his voice increases
| IN volume and compass with ago. He b = per
buzx ssw 70 . humming bird"
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