The nightingale is not a bird of flight, in the sense the bird-catchers use this term. Like the robin, 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 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 the first week in 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 meal-worm from the baker's shop. Ten or a dozen night ingales 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 those nets which are called trammels. These are usually made of 36 yards in length, and about six yards over, with six ribs of packthread, which at the ends are put upon two poles of about 16 feet long, and made less at each end. These are to be drawn over the ground by two men, and every five or six steps the net is made to touch the ground, otherwise it will pass over the birds, with. out 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 properest for this sport ; and the net will npt only take larks, but all other birds that roost on the ground, among which are woodcocks, snipes, par tridges, quails, fieldfares, and several others.
In the depth of winter, people some times 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 20 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 scat tered all the way among the nooses. They must be taken away as soon as three or four arc hung, otherwise the rest will be frighted ; but though the others are scared away just where the sports man 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 15 yards length, and two and a halfin breadth, and are enticed within the reach by bits of looking-glass, fixed in a piece of wood, and placed in the middle of the nest, which are put in a quick whirling motion by a string the larker commands ; he also makes use of a decoy lark. These nets are used only till the 14th of No vember ; for the larks will not dare, or frolic in the air, except in fine sunny wea ther ; and, of course, cannot be inveigled into the snare. When the weather grows gloomy, the larker changes his engine, and makes use of a trammel-net, twenty seven or twenty-eight feet long, and five broad ; which is put on two poles, eigh teen 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.
But the most singular species of bird. catching is on the Holm of Ness, a vast rock severed from the Isle of Ness by some unknown convulsion, and only about sixteen fathoms distance. It is of the same stupendous height as the opposite pre cipice, with a raging sea between ; so that the intervening chasm is of matchless horror. Some adventurous climber reach es 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 ; correspondent stakes are placed on the edge of the correspondent 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 man ner, the adventurer wafts himself over, and returns with his booty.