The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-06-22
KILLING BIRDS in ITALY
ONE MARKED INSTANCE OF AN EVIL
THAT II WORLDWIDE.
Fate of sonEsters that Might BE Par
aIIeIed I'm America. Though Not Al
together from the Same Cause.

cation OF the progress of the destruction OF
birds in that country. / must admit that 1t
still hourishes. as it did twenty years ago,
and. in consequence Of improved methods.
at least as regards the pursuit on a small
scale. IL is carried on even more briskly
than before. The implements for sharing
have increased in number. and are much
improved. and On the other hand. the num-
Der Of the hunted birds has decreased. the
surest sign of the disappearance of our
birds in general. Everywhere I heard the
same complaint from birdcatchers and deal
ers. that during the last decade the number
OF birds had yearly decreased and that the
business hardly paid any more. On the one
hand. the once fourishing export OF small
birds has noticeably decreased, even in
some respects ceased entirely; on the other
hand, the price of the birds offered in the
Italian markets has decidedly risen. While
for example. in the eighties. one dozen
'.piccoli uccelli'' Qittle birds)-that is to
say. every conceivable kind, even robins
and fnches. cost on an average from 30 to
30 centesimi. and on warm days, when the
catch was very good and the export not
practicable, as little as 5 centesimi-the
price to-day for one dozen OF the same
birds has risen as high as from so centesimi
10 one lire.
Only the bitter-tasting sparrows nave re-
NAMED comparatively cheap; Utmost ex-
clusively field sparrows, for L have seldom
seen a house sparrow In market, and these
displayed daily in large numbers. are to be
had for from 50 20 so centesimi, or even
less. When one sees the quantity of birds
offered daily for sale it seems hardly cred
ible that they can all be consumed in one
day, and in one place. II can only be eX-
planned by the fact that these small birds
are a food or a delicacy for the poor
laoorer as Well as the rich man, and. ABOVE
all. for the countless foreigners in Italy
just at this season. Yes, L consider the
yearly increasing international hotels as
the chief consumers Of innumerable birds.
The man Of the people in most cases has
his birds cooked in the public kitchens,
many of which 1 also visited in my quest
for information. Here the birds, accord
ing to the taste of the consumer, are usual
ly run on 10 spits by the dozen, alternately
a bird, then a piece OF bread and a sage
leaf. and roasted over a charcoal fire. A
quarter of an hour suffices 70 cook the
small creatures In their own fat, and then,
with the bread roasted at the same time,
they are eaten on the spot.
I saw the largest number Of birds, and
certainly not fewer now than formerly. in
Milan and Florence. but on the other
hand there were not nearly as many in
Como and other small towns. The reason
for this lies in the general disappearance
OF the birds. While there were formerly
so many caught that all the markets could
be literally supplied and still enough left
over for expectation. to-day the entire
product of all Italy barely suffices for its
own large cities. For that reason il would
be a great mistake to estimate the entire
number of birds destroyed. from the large
quantity one sees in the aforementioned
markets. These are gathered from all
parts and in some cases come from very
remote districts. Birdcatchers md deal
ers at first hand withhold their prey from
their WI countFymen. because in the
large cities, on account of the constant
demand. thev0are surer of a higher and
steadfer profit than in the small places.
ROBINS IN MARKET.
In Milan and Florence 1 saw large guam
titles of birds. probably from 10000 to 3d.
900 daily. The kinds vary naturally accord
ing TO the seasons and the corresponding
migrations. During my observations of
last year early in October the largest num-
Der of birds consisted of larks and robins;
OF the latter on some mornings 1 saw as
many as three or four thousand in market.
In many of the robins 1 noticed that the
thigh bone was split. and learned that
these had been caught in archetli (spring
traps, in which case the broken bone was
unavoidable. 1t seems most remarkable
that so many birds can be caught in this
way. when only one can be taken at a time,
and each trap requires so much time and
trouble TO prepare and watch. For, even
though the proportion of birds caught in
this way Is small compared to those taken
In nets. l could on many mornings count
hundreds with broken legs.
Next In number to robins and larks come
the various thrusheS-unfortunately, not
only missel thrushes and redwings, but also
our beautiful song thrusheS. Moreover,
with US also in Germany, according TO re-
liable statistics. about 90 per cent. of the
so-cailed field fares caught yearly are real
~ song thrushes. and about 10 per cent. are
other useful insect destroyers. Contrary to
my former observations, quail also are now
offered for sale In northern Italy. These,
however, are not caught here. but come
from the south. mostly from the Campagna
and the Island of Capri. Moreover. quail
are destroyed in Egypt even more than in
Italy. According 10 the OrnitholOgicaI
Monthly. the number of live quail exported
from Egypt during 1898 amounted TO 1.275.-
$50, of which loss. $50 went TO France, $4,000
directly to England. 10000 to Italy and $500
10 Malta.
The quail. as 1 have often seen in italian
markets. are packed by ffties, living. in
fiat boxes, closed on one side with wire
and on top with canvas. and of these often
a dozen or more are standing one on top
Of the other. As they are needed the in
mates are taken out and knocked on the
head on a table. while at the same moment
the breast is pressed in, and then the little
creatures, as yet but half dead and with
quivering wings. are ruthlessly plucked.
All this. even the plucking, is accomplished
with such Incredible r%apidity. that hardly
a minute elapses before one quail IS ready
for cooking and another is begun on.
But, as i said before, / visited not only
the town market but also the contriv-
ances for sharing in the hills above the
AdAtCe owl W lAC 0AI AAk All lOIuGI WISH.
There. too, 1 found everything as before.
The smaller establishments still consist
usually OF a ~roccolo. and near this I'm the
larger ones a pressanella, several passata
these three expressions denote the most
common methods OF sharing by nets). and
often. a little to one side. a decoy. Near
by destruction awaits the birds at every
turn in the shape OF traps, lime. cages, nets.
etc, ard these instruments Of death have
been added TO and improved since my last
visit. i have nothing new to report con-
corning the decor birds and their use. That
a large number OF birds are still entrapDed
In this way was betrayed in spite of mr.
friendly autumn weather, by the loud sing
ing I'm the neighbOrhOOd. Here also I met
with the same complaints. there are 10
more birds, every year there are fewer.
twice as much as formerly. the business
does not pay.
ARE DISAPPEARING.
Now. | believe. I have collected enough
facts TO prove once more that the Euro
pean bird world is steadily disappearing
Our migrating birds-with some few excep-
ticns OF blackbirds. fnches and starlings
wander to-day exactly as they did i'm former
years. and their routes remain the same:
what else, then, can be the reason for their
steady decrease In Italy except that their
number is growing smaller?
However. / am very far from attributinc
this disappearance OF our birds solely "a
their destruction in the south. BY no
means. Their disappearance is i'm a greater
degree the consequence OF constantly i'm
proving methods IN farming and forestry.
b which the birds are robbed OF the neces-