Page 120 - Our Vanishing Wild Life

98 OUR VANISHING WILD LIFE
bird-lovers' society in Italy, the blinding of decoy birds for roccclos is to be stopped.
In Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, the protection of these birds during their breeding season must be very effective, for otherwise the supply for the Italian slaughter of the Innocents would long ago have fallen to nothing.
The Germans love birds, and all wild life. I wonder how they like the Italian roccolo. I wonder how France regards it; and whether the nations of Europe north of Italy will endure this situation forever.
To the American and English reader, comment on the practices recorded above is quite unnecessary, except the observation that they betoken a callousness of feeling and a depth of cruelty and destructive- nesstowhich,sclarasknown,nosavageseveryethavesunk. Asan exhibit of the groveling pusillanimity of the human soul, the roccolo of northern Italy reveals minus qualities which can not be expressed either in words or in figures.
And whac is the final exhibit of the gallant knight of the roccolo, the feudal lord of the modern castle and its retainers ?
The answer is given by Dr. Louis B. Bishop, in an article on "Birds in the Markets of Southern Europe."
In Venice, which was visited in October and November, during the fall migration, he found on sale in the markets, as food, thousands of songbirds.
"Birds were there in profusion, from ducks to kites, in the early morning, hung in great bunches above the stalls, but by 9 A. M. most of them had been sold. Ducks and shorebirds occurred in some numbers, butthevastmajorityweresmallsparrows,larksandthrushes. These werethereduringmyvisitbythethousands,ifnottenthousands. To the market they were brought in large sacks, strung in fours on twigs which had been passed through the eyes and then tied. Most of these small birds had been trapped, and on skinning them I often could find noinjuryexceptattheireyes.* OneofthesesackswhichIexaminedon November 3, contained hundreds of birds, largely siskins, skylarks and bramblings. As a rule the small birds that were not sold in the early morning were skinned or picked, and their tiny bodies packed in regular order,, breasts up, in shallow tin boxes, and exposed for sale."
"During these visits to the Venetian markets, I identified 60 species, and procured specimens of most. As nearly as I can remember, small
birds cost from two to five cents apiece. Nov. 8, for
1 Woodcock,
1 Jay,
2 Starlings,
2 Spotted Crakes, 1 Song Thrush,
For example I paid $2.15 on
1 Skylark,
1 Greenfinch, 1 Bullfinch,
1 Redpoll,
3 Linnets,
2 Goldfinches,
1 Gold-Crest,
It is probable that these birds were killed by piercing the head through the eyes.