Page:Bird-lore Vol 08.djvu/172

 jBtote0 from Jfteid an& l^tutip ' Nothing New Under the Sun ' Recently while delving among the old books in the library of the Academy of Nat- ural Sciences of Philadelphia, in search of some of the forgotten bird names, which are at once the delight of some ornithologists and the despair of others, I came across a curious little volume printed in old German black letter and bearing date of 1706 — just two hundred years ago ! This work deals exclusively with the cap- ture and slaughter of wild birds, and a glance at its numerous plates shows that it was prepared before Audubon societies or similar organizations were even thought of. There are shown all manner of spring guns, cage traps, nets, bird-lime devices, auto- matic arrows which shoot up a hollow post and impale a bird which alights on top, and horizontal perches which close together and catch birds by the toes. Also a great board full of spikes, which descend on a flock of feeding birds, and an open wire affair like the arm of a windmill, which when liberated revolves rapidly, knocking down the birds which are feeding on bait close to it. What interested me most, how- ever, was the device shown in the accom- panying figure, which is almost a counter- part of that used by Mr. Chapman and others a few years ago for the far more Iau- dible purpose of photographing birds, but which, as it now appears, is not an invention of the twentieth nor yet of the nineteenth century! — Witmer Stone, Philadelphia, Pa. A Little Black Rail in Massachusetts An extract from my log of May 16, 1904, reads: " As I was standing by the B-s spring today, I heard something among the branches of -a small pine near by. On looking up, I saw a small bird come tumb- ling down through the soft pine tips, now and then clinging to one for a second. Finally he landed on the ground. Here he stopped for a minute on the wet pine needles as if to recover his balance, and then made for cover. While this was going on I had stood watch- ing the proceedings with inter'est, but as soon as the bird started to run I saw at once, by his di- minutive size and peculiar shape, that he must be something un- usual. I quickly gave chase, and with the help of my terrier, soon cornered the bird in some under- brush; but, after getting clos enough to touch him with my hand, he escaped to another hiding-place. Knowing now that he was the rare Black Rail, I redoubled my zeal, and, at last, after an exciting quarter of an hour, I caught the little fellow. "The strange thing about the chase was that he never attempted to fly more than a few yards. If chased into the open, he would take wing and flutter into the near- est cover, but never once did he try a pro- longed flight. In running on the ground he was very skilful, and, had it not been for the open character of the piney hillside on which he fell, I never should have seen him an instant after he struck the ground- "The only explanation that I can give of the little Rail's strange appearance is that, tired out by a long migration and bewildered in the fog, he had lost his way (136)