Page:Dawson - Australian aborigines (1900).djvu/109

Rh found, corroborating the statements of the aborigines with regard to this bird, which seems to have resembled the gigantic moa of New Zealand. Swans are killed in marshes, by the hunter wading among the tall reeds and sedges, and knocking the birds on the head with a waddy. When the nullore blossoms, the swans commence laying. The eggs are generally eaten raw, especially by the men while wading in the cold swamps, as they believe, an uncooked egg keeps them warm. The penalty for robbing a swan's nest in a marsh belonging to a neighbouring tribe is a severe beating. Ducks and the smaller waterfowl are captured among the reeds and sedges with a noose on the point of a long wand. The hunter approaches them under the concealment of a bunch of leaves, and slips the noose over their heads, and draws them towards him quietly, so as not to disturb the others. In summer, when the long grass in the marshes is dry enough to burn, it is set on fire in order to attract birds in search of food, which is exposed by the destruction of the cover; and, as the smoke makes them stupid, even the wary crow is captured when hungry. Sometimes a waterhole is surrounded with a brush fence, in which an opening is left. Near this opening a small bower is made, in which the hunter sits; and, when the birds come to drink, he nooses them while passing. Pigeons are caught in great numbers in this way; and, as they come regularly to drink at sunset, the hunter has not long to wait for them. The quail is captured during the breeding season only, for then it is readily attracted by imitating the call of its mate; and the hunter, concealed by a bush shield and provided with the long wand and noose, has no difficulty in catching it among the long grass. Small birds are killed with a long, sharp-pointed wand by boys, who lie in thickets and attract them by imitating their cries. When a bird alights on a bush above their heads, they gently push up the wand and suddenly transfix the animal. The eagle is hated on account of its readiness to attack young children. The natives mention an instance of a baby having been carried off by one, while crawling outside a wuurn near the spot where the village of Caramut now stands. On the discovery of an eagle's nest — which is always built on the top of a high tree — the natives wait the departure of the old birds, and, while one man watches for their return, the other climbs up and digs a hole through the bottom of the nest, and removes the eggs. If it contains young birds, too strong to be handled, he sets fire to the nest with a lighted stick, which he carries between his teeth. This so terrifies them that they jump out, and fall to the ground. While the old