WILLIAM**, an eminent musician and composer, was one of the children of the chapel in the reign of Edward VI., and, as is asserted by Wood in the Ashmolean MS., was bred up under Tallis. It appears that in 1575 Tallis and Bird were both gentlemen and also organists of the royal chapel; but the time of their appointment to this latter office cannot now be ascertained. The compositions of Bird are many and various; those of his younger years were mostly for the service of the church. He composed a work entitled *Sacre Cantiones, quinque vocum*, printed in 1589; among which is that noble composition, *Civitas sancti tui*, which is occasionally sung as an anthem, to the words "Bow thine ear, O Lord." He was also the author of a work entitled *Gradualia, ac Cantiones sacrae, quinis, quaternis, trimisque vocibus concinnatae, lib. primus*. Of this there are two editions, the latter published in 1610. Although it appears by these works that Bird was in the strictest sense a church musician, he occasionally gave to the world compositions of a secular kind; and he seems to have been the first among English musicians who made an essay in the composition of that elegant species of vocal harmony, the madrigal. The *Verginella* of Ariosto, which he set in that form for five voices, is the most ancient musical composition of the kind to be met with in the works of English authors. Of his compositions for private entertainment, there are extant, Songs of sundry natures, some of Gravittie, and others of Myrth, fit for all companies and voyes, printed in 1589; and two other collections of the same kind, the last of them printed in 1611. But the most permanent memorials of Bird's excellencies are his motetts and anthems: to which may be added, a fine service in the key of D with the minor third, the first composition in Dr Boyce's Cathedral Music, vol. iii.; and that well-known canon of his, *Non nobis Domine*.

**BIRD.** See **Ornithology**. For the method of preserving birds see **Taxidermy**.

**Bird-Call**, a little stick, cleft at one end, in which is put a leaf of some plant, wherewith to counterfeit the cry or call of several birds, and bring them to the net, or snare, or lime-twigs, to be taken. A laurel leaf fitted on the bird-call counterfeits the voice of lapwings; a leek that of nightingales, &c.

**Bird-Catching**, the art of taking birds or wild-fowl, whether for food, for the pleasure of their song, or for their destruction as pernicious to the husbandman and horticulturist.

Song-birds, in a state of nature, *fly*, as the bird-catchers term it, chiefly during the month of October, and part of September and November; as the flight in March is much less considerable than that of Michaelmas. It is to be noted, also, that the several species of birds of flight do not make their appearance precisely at the same time, during the months of September, October, and November. The puppet-lark, for example, begins to fly about Michaelmas, and is succeeded by the wood-lark, linnet, goldfinch, chaffinch, greenfinch, and other kinds. These birds, during the Michaelmas and March flights, are chiefly on the wing from day-break to noon, though there is afterwards a small flight from two till night; but this is so inconsiderable that the bird-catchers usually take up their nets at noon.

It may also be observed that they always fly against the wind; and hence there is great contention amongst the bird-catchers who shall gain the leeward point. A gentle wind to the south-west produces the best sport. The bird-catcher generally carries with him five or six linnets (of which more are caught than of any other singing bird), two goldfinches, two greenfinches, one wood-lark, one red-poll, a yellow-hammer, titlark, and aberdavine or siskin, and perhaps a bullfinch; these are placed at small distances from the nets, in little cages. He is moreover provided with what are called *flur-birds*, which are placed within the nets, and are raised upon the flur, or gently lowered, as the wild birds are seen to approach them. The flur is a movable perch, to which the tame bird is secured, and which, by means of a long cord, the bird-catcher can raise or depress at pleasure. The flur-birds generally consist of the linnet, the goldfinch, and the greenfinch, which are secured to the flur by what is called a *brace*.

It having been found that there is a difference between bird and bird, from the one being more in song than the other, the bird-catchers contrive that their call-birds should moult before the usual time. They therefore, in June or July, put them into a close box under two or three folds of blankets, in which state they continue about a month. The birds frequently die under this operation; and for this reason the value of a stopped bird rises greatly. When the bird has thus prematurely moulted, he is in song whilst the wild birds are out of song, and his note is louder and more piercing than theirs; his plumage also is said to be equally improved. The black and yellow in the wings of the goldfinch, for example, become deeper and more vivid, and exhibit a beautiful gloss. In short, according to the bird-fanciers, there is as much difference between a wild and a stopped bird, as there is between a horse which is kept in body-clothes and one at grass.

When the bird-catcher has laid his nets, he disposes of his call-birds at proper intervals. Their sight and hearing infinitely excel that of the bird-catcher; and the instant that the wild birds are perceived, notice is given by one of the call-birds, which seem to anticipate with pleasure the expected capture of their fellows. The call-birds, while the wild ones are at a distance, do not sing as birds do in a chamber; they invite them by what the bird-catchers call *short jerks*, which, when the birds are good, may be heard at a great distance. The power of this inviting call is so great, that the wild bird is stopped in its course of flight; and, if not already acquainted with the nets, lights boldly within twenty yards of perhaps three or four bird-catchers, on a spot which otherwise it would not have taken the least notice of. Nay, it frequently happens, that if half a flock only are caught, the remaining half will immediately afterwards light in the nets and share the same fate; and should only one bird escape, that bird will suffer itself to be pulled at till it is caught, such a fascinating power have the call-birds.

Bird-catchers frequently lay considerable wagers on the jerking capacities of their call-birds. They place them opposite to each other, by an inch of candle; and the bird who jerks the oftener before the candle is burnt out wins the wager. We have been informed that there have been instances of a bird's giving 170 jerks in a quarter of an hour; and we have known a linnet, in such a trial, persevere in its emulation till it swooned from the perch; thus, as Pliny says of the nightingale, *victa morte finit sepe ritam, spiritu prius deficiente quam canto*.

The females of the different species are usually killed, as incapable of song, and inferior in the beauty of their plumage. They are sold for threepence or fourpence a

---

1 A sort of bandage, formed of a slender silken string that is fastened round the bird's body, and under the wings. 2 A bird acquainted with the nets is by the bird-catchers termed a *sharp*; and this they endeavour to drive away, as they can have no sport whilst it continues near them. These small birds are so good, that we are surprised the luxury of the age neglects so delicate an acquisition to the table. The modern Italians are fond of small birds, which they eat under the common name of beccaficos; and the extravagant price paid by a Roman tragedian for one dish of singing birds is well known. Another particular we learned, in conversation with a London bird-catcher, was the vast price that is sometimes given even for song-birds which have not learned to whistle tunes. The greatest sum we heard of was five guineas for a chaffinch that had a particular and uncommon note, under which it was intended to train others; and we also heard of five pounds ten shillings being given for a call-bird linnet. The male birds usually fly by themselves, and in that case their flight precedes that of the female. When the titlarks are caught in the beginning of the season, it frequently happens that forty are taken and not one female among them; and probably the same would be observed with regard to other birds (as has been done with relation to the wheat-ear), if they were attended to. An experienced and intelligent bird-catcher informed us, that such birds as breed twice a year generally have in their first brood a majority of males, and in their second of females, which may in part account for the circumstance above mentioned. It has been observed with regard to the bullfinch, that the female answers the purpose of a call-bird as well as the male.

The nightingale is not a bird of flight, in the sense in which the bird-catchers use this term. Like the red-breast, wren, and many other singing birds, it only moves from hedge to hedge, and does not take the periodical flights in October and March. The persons who catch these birds make use of small trap-nets, without call-birds; and they are considered as inferior in dignity to other bird-catchers, who will not rank with them. The arrival of the nightingale is expected by the trappers in the neighbourhood of London during the first week of April: at the beginning, none but cocks are taken; but in a few days the hens make their appearance, generally by themselves, though sometimes a few males come along with them. The latter are distinguished from the females not only by their superior size, but by a great swelling of their vent, which commences on the first arrival of the hens. They are caught in a net-trap, the bottom of which is surrounded with an iron ring; the net itself is rather larger than a cabbage net. When the trappers hear or see them, they strew some fresh mould under the place, and bait the trap with a mealworm from the baker's shop. Ten or a dozen nightingales have been thus caught in a day.

The common way of taking larks, of which so many are used at our tables, is in the night, with nets called tramnels. These are usually made of thirty-six yards in length, and about six yards over, with six ribs of pack-thread, which at the ends are put upon two poles of about sixteen feet long, and made lesser at each end. The net is to be drawn over the ground by two men, and every five or six steps it is made to touch the ground, otherwise it will pass over the birds without touching them, and they will escape. When they are felt to fly up against the net, it is clapped down, and then all are safe that are under it. The darkest nights are most proper for this sport; and the net will not only take larks, but all other birds that roost on the ground; among which are woodcocks, snipes, partridges, quails, and several others. In the depth of winter people sometimes take great numbers of larks by nooses of horse-hair. The method is this: Take 100 or 200 yards of pack-thread; fasten at every six inches a noose, made of double horse-hair; at every twenty yards the line is to be pegged down to the ground, and so left ready to take them. The time to use this is when the ground is covered with snow, and the larks are to be allured to it by some white oats scattered all the way among the nooses. They must be taken away as soon as three or four are hung, otherwise the rest will be frightened; but though the others are scared away just where the sportsman comes, they will be feeding at the other end of the line, and the sport may be thus continued for a long time. Those caught in the day are taken in clap-nets, of fifteen yards in length and two and a half in breadth; and are enticed within the reach by means of bits of looking-glass, fixed in a piece of wood, and placed in the middle of the nets, which are put in a quick whirling motion by a string which the larker commands; he also makes use of a decoy lark. These nets are used only till the 14th November; for the larks will not dare to frolic in the air, except in fine sunny weather, and of course cannot be inveigled into the snare. When the weather grows gloomy, the larker changes his engine, and makes use of a tramnel-net, twenty-seven or twenty-eight feet long, and five broad, which is put on two poles, eighteen feet long, and carried by men under each arm, who pass over the fields and quarter the ground as a setting dog. When they hear or feel a lark hit the net, they drop it down, and so the birds are taken.

A singular species of bird-catching is practised on the holm of Noss, a vast rock severed from the Isle of Noss by some unknown convulsion, and only about sixteen fathoms distant. It is of the same stupendous height as the opposite precipice, with a raging sea between. An adventurous climber reaches the rock in a boat, gains the height, and fastens several stakes on the small portion of earth which is to be found on the top; corresponding stakes are also placed on the edge of the opposite cliffs. A rope is fixed to the stakes on both sides, along which a machine, called a cradle, is contrived to slide; and, by the help of a small parallel cord fastened in like manner, the adventurer pulls himself over, and returns with his booty.

The manner of bird-catching in the Feroe Islands is also extremely hazardous. The cliffs which contain the objects of their search are often two hundred fathoms in height, and are attempted both from above and below. In the first case, the fowlers provide themselves with a rope eighty or a hundred fathoms in length. The fowler fastens one end about his waist and between his legs, recommends himself to the protection of the Almighty, and is lowered down by six others, who place a piece of timber on the margin of the rock, to preserve the rope from wearing against the sharp edge. They have, besides, a small line fastened to the body of the adventurer, by which he gives signals that they may lower or raise him, or shift him from place to place. The last operation is attended with great danger, by the loosening of the stones, which often fall on his head, and would infallibly destroy him, were he not protected by a strong thick cap; but even that is found unequal to save him against the weight of the larger fragments of rock. The dexterity of the fowlers is amazing; they will place their feet against the front of the precipice, and dart themselves some fathoms from it, with a cool eye survey the places where the birds nestle, and again shoot into their haunts. In some places the birds lodge in deep recesses. The fowler will alight there, disengage himself from the rope, fix it to a stone, and at his leisure collect the booty, fasten it to his girdle, and resume his pendulous seat. At times he will again

---

1 Aesop, the actor, is said to have expended a sum equal to L.800 sterling on a single dish of singing birds. spring from the rock, and in that attitude, with a fowling-net placed at the end of a staff, catch the old birds which are flying to and from their retreats. When he has finished his dreadful employ, he gives a signal to his friends above, who pull him up, and share the hard-earned spoils. The feathers are preserved for exportation; the flesh is partly eaten fresh, but the greater portion is dried for winter's provision.

The fowling from below has its share of danger. The party goes on the expedition in a boat; and when it has attained the base of the precipice, one of the most daring, having fastened a rope about his waist, and furnished himself with a long pole with an iron hook at one end, either climbs, or is thrust up by his companions, who place a pole under his breech, to the first station. He, by means of the rope, brings up one of the boat's crew; the rest are drawn up in the same manner, and each is furnished with his rope and fowling staff. They then continue their progress upwards in the same manner, till they arrive at the region of birds; and wander about the face of the cliff in search of them. They then act in pairs; one fastens himself to the end of his associate's rope, and in places where birds have nestled beneath his footing, he permits himself to be lowered down, depending for his security on the strength of his companion, who has to haul him up again; but it sometimes happens that the person above is overpowered by the weight, and both inevitably perish. They fling the fowl into the boat, which attends their motions, and receives the booty. They often pass seven or eight days in this tremendous employ, and lodge in the crannies which they find in the face of the precipice.

In some remote parts of Russia there is practised a singular invention for taking great quantities of gelinottes, which are a species of grouse. They choose the most open places in the birch woods; and there they plant long forks in the earth, opposite to the larger trees. On these forks is laid a horizontal stick, gallows-wise, to which are tied small bundles of ears of corn. At a short distance from this part of the contrivance is a kind of large funnel or inverted cone, made with long birch-twigs, thin and flexible, the lower extremities of which are stuck in the earth, very near to one another, but, by spreading towards the top, form there an opening of above a yard in diameter. In this opening is placed a wheel made of two circles that intersect each other, and are surrounded with straw and ears of corn. This wheel turns on an axis fastened to the side of the funnel in such a manner that there is room enough between the sticks of the cone and the circles to admit of the wheel's turning freely about. The birds first perch upon the transverse stick near the tree; and when they have a mind to fall upon the corn tied to the wheel, they must necessarily stand upon one of the projecting parts of the circles of which it is composed. At that instant the wheel turns, and the gelinotte falls, head foremost, to the bottom of the trap, which is there so contracted that he cannot get out. By these means the fowler sometimes finds the machine half-full of gelinottes.

The following method of netting or catching wild pigeons is eagerly pursued as a diversion in different parts of Italy, particularly by the inhabitants of Cava, and is thus described by Mr Swinburne. The people "assemble in parties; and if any stranger chances to stray to their rendezvous, they give him a most cordial welcome. I am not in the least surprised," says Mr Swinburne, "at their passionate fondness for this sport, as I found it extremely bewitching, keeping the attention constantly alive, and the springs of the mind pleasingly agitated by expectation; the situations where the toils are spread are incomparably beautiful, the air is pure and balsamic, and every thing around breathes health and satisfaction. When the periodical flights of stock-doves return from the northern and western parts of Europe to gain warmer regions for their winter abode, the fowler repairs to the mountain, and spreads his nets across the intermediate hollows, the passes through which the birds direct their course, to avoid unnecessary elevation in their flight. These nets are hung upon a row of large trees planted for the purpose. The branches being very thick and close at top, and the pole lofty and bare, a great opening is left below for the toils, which reach to the ground, and, by means of pulleys, fill in a heap with the least effort. Sometimes they are extended upon poles that exceed the height of the trees. At a small distance is a lofty circular turret, like a column with a little capital or cap, upon which a man is stationed to watch the approach of the game. As he commands a free view over all the country, and practice has made his sight as acute as that of the lynx, he describes the birds at a wonderful distance. The doves advance with great velocity; but the alert watchman is prepared for them; and just as they approach his post, hurl a stone above them with a sling. Upon this the whole flock, whose fears have birds of prey for their great object, supposing the stone to be an enemy of that kind ready to pounce them, dart down like lightning to avoid the blow by passing under the trees; but there they rush into the jaws of death, by dashing against the net, which instantly drops, and so entangles them that not one of them can escape the active hands of the fowler. These birds are sometimes taken by dozens at one fall, and are accounted fine eating. The dexterity with which the slingers manage their weapon is very remarkable; they throw the stone to a great height without any violent effort, and even without whirling the sling round before they discharge the pellet. In the Pyrenean mountains, where the same diversion is followed, the watchmen use a bow and arrow, trimmed with the feathers of a hawk."

The methods employed for the capture of water-fowl will be found described under the word Decoy.