]8]

Berger Mueller, BAL-CHATRI and THE

Bird-Banding

January

27.
28.
29. 30.
31.

fledged were producedby four double-brooded females. One double-brooded fe,nale produced at least six fledglings in 1957. The speciesenduresand overcomes high mortality of nestsby virtue of its high breeding potential. Adult ,nales sang full songsas late as August 6. Adults did not un,dergo postnuptial molt during nesting. Fledging occurred as late as August 17-18. Adults apparently migrate south fro,n Oklahoma before molting. There are no September or later records of adults for the state. Juveniles have been recorded in September, female-like birds in OctobeT. Differences exist in the breeding behavior of the Indigo and Painted Buntings.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT

This studywas financed largely by a grant-in-aid from the 'National Science Foundation. Dr. Carl D. Riggs,Director of the Universityof Oklah,oma BiologicalStation,provided transportation and both field and laboratory equipment, helped in everyotherpossible and me way. Mr. W. M. Pulichof theUniversity Dallas,Irving, Texas,aidedme in of field observations.I am especially gratefulto Dr. GeorgeM. Sutton and Mr. Donald H. Baeplerof the Universityof OklahomaZool,ogy Department invaluable for help afieldand in the readingof the manuscript.
BIBLIOGRAPHY

ALLEN,A.A. 1933. The Indigo Bunting. Bird-Lore, 35: 227-23. BAUMGARTNER, M. and HOWELL,J. C. 1947. The numerical and seasonal F. statuses the birds of Payne County,Oklaho,na. Proceedings the Oklaof o! homa Academy o! Science, 27: 45-59. BRABLEY, L. 1948. A life history study of the Indigo Bunting. Jack-Pine H. Warbler, 26: 103-113.
COMMITTEE OF THE AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGISTS' UNION. 1957. Check-List of

North American birds. Fifth Edition. The Lord Balti,nore Press, Inc., Baltimore, Maryland. Pages 1-691. FORBUSH, H. 1929. Birds of Massachusettsand other New England States. E. Volume 3. M,assachusetts Department of Agriculture. Pages 1-466. NICE, M. M. 1931. The birds of Oklaho,na. University of Oklaho,na Press, Norman, Oklaho,na. Pages 1-224. NORMAN,J. L. Unpublished notes at 2617 Elgin, Muskogee, Oklaho,na. SPRUNT, ALEXANDER, Jt., and CHAMBERLAIN, BURNHAM. 1949. Sou[h CaroE. lina Bird Life. University of South Carolina Press,Colmnbia, S.C. Pages1-585.

SUTTON,g. M. Unpublished notes at Department of Zoology, University of Oklaho,na, Nor,nan, Oklaho,na. BiologyDepartment,KansasState TeachersCollege,Emporia,Kansas.

THE

BAL-CHATRI:

A TRAP

FOR

THE

BIRDS

OF

PREY

By DANIELD. BERGER HELMUTC. MUELLER AND

In spiteof the abundance variety of traps left to us by many and generations falconers, raptorsremain amongthe most diiicult of the birdst,otrap. The device presented belowis thebestall-purpose we trap haveencountered nearly a decade experimenting in of with the various techniques capturing for hawks. It hasthe advantages beingsmall, of havingno moving .parts, canbe throwninto the vicinityof a hawk and from a movingvehicle. As with mosttrappingtechniques, device the is an adaptation an ancient of idea. For many yearsthe eastIndian
falconers have taken hawks in h,orsehair nooses aiixed to the exterior

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Berger Mueller, BAL-CHATRI and T4E

[19

of a canecagewhichcontained several live lure birds. MacPherson

(1897) designates this trap as a "Shikra Trap." Craighead (1942) gives bal-chatri ("boy's umbrella") as the Indian name of this trap. The latter has becomethe accepted name. In our bal-chatri we have substituted hardware clothand monofilament nylonfor caneand horsehair and changed dimensions enhance the to portability,but the basic idea remainsunchanged.
TRAP DESCRIPTIONS

The bal-chatriis a hardwarecl.oth cagecovered with slip-nooses of monofilament nylon. Three types satisfy our presentrequirements although is possible it that noneof thesemay be suitablefor someof themanyspecies raptors of with whichwe havenot yet had experience. It is interesting that we have yet to catcha singleone of the skortwinged species which the Indian bal-chatri was used. for Type I. The first of our two basictrapsis in the shapeof a cylinder six inchesin diameterand two and one-halfincheshigh constructed of one-thirdinch meshhardwarecloth. A door in the bottompermits the depositand removalof bait. The top is uniformly covered with 40 one-inch-in-diameter nooses four lb. test nylon. A metal strip of is wired cir.cumferentially the bottomto bring the grossweight to of the trap to eight ounces. Type II. This trap differs from type I in having about 35 nooses of 15 lb. test nylon, each one and one-halfinch in diameter. A somewhat heavierstrip is attached the bottomin the samemanneras in to type I so that the total weight of the bal-chatri is brought to twenty
'OUllCeS.

Type III.

This trap is hemicylindrical, quonset or shaped, twelve

incheslong, ten incheswide, and six high. The ends and top of this one-half inch mesh hardware cloth cage are coveredwith some one hundrednooses twentylb. testnylon. Eachnoose one and 'oneof is half inch in diameter. Again, this trap shouldbe weightedat the

bottom sufficiently cause to landright-side-up, the totalweight to it but should not exceed twenty-four ounces possible.The door, as in all if of our traps,is in the bottom.This bal-chatri wasdesigned specifically for the trappingof Harris' Hawks (Parabuteounicinctus) and is not necessarily particularly well suited the capture any otherhawks for of
exceptpossibly.othergregariousspecies.

Weighting trapsat the bottom our with stripsof lead or ron causes themto right themselves, whenrolling,after beingdropped even from a movingautomobile. The weights light enough the hawkmay are so

drag the trap a sh'ort distance, heavyenough keepthe bird but to fromcarrying away. If thetrap is tooheavily it weighted, abrupt the
pull of the striking hawk may snapthe nooses.
all in order to attract the hawk an active lure is essential. Then after

Theefficiency a bal-chatri dependent several of is on things.First of

the hawkstrikes trap it is important haveproperly the to tied nooses of optimum diameter density.We have and come expect catch t,o a of
at least 95% of the Kestrelsthat actually strike the trap.

Nooses may be tied in several different ways. Our method diais grammed Figure 1. After eachnooseis attached the trap as in to

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Berger :litteller, BAL-CHATRI and TaE

Bird-Banding January

shownin Figure 1 the attachment knot can be tightened inserting by a pencilthroughthe noose and pullingawayfrom the trap. Now the noose,which so far has been closed,should be spread open and adjusted that it stands nearlyerectas possible.A drop of Duco so as cementat the point of attachment will securethe knot and keep the nooseerect. A No. 13 crochethook considerably increases speed the of the operation. This tool is also useful in reopening nooses after a hawkhasbeencaptured.We haveexperimented several with brands of monofilament nylon and have found the J. 'C. Higgins brand, sold by Sears,Roebuck and Co., to be very satisfactory inexpensive. and

Limp nylonis the mostdesirable.A bal-chatri requires very little

maintenance. Onemustsimplyseeto it that nothingis left lying on

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XXX

Berger Mueller, BAL-CHATRI and THE

[2

top of the nooses whilethe trap is not in use. Occasionally regluing

or replacement the nooses necessary. of is
LURES

We have used,with varying success, severalspecies birds and of micefor bait. HouseMice (Mus musculus) by far the mostsatisare factoryof therodents.Otherspecies erraticin their activitywithin are thetrap andoftenfail to attractthe hawks' attention.However, Meadow Voles (Microtus sp.) can also be used with some success. Fitch (1950), Howard (1953), and Howell (1954) give descriptions live of trapsfor mice. Severalcommercial modelsare alsoavailable. FreshlycaughtEnglishSparrows(Passerdomesticus) can also be used but they soonlearn to "freeze"upon sightinga hawk and will remain inactive,and thus unattractive extended for periods. Due to this

disadvantage alsoto thelact that sparrows relatively and are difficult to keep,especially while travelling,we muchprefer to ,usemice for trapping mostspecies. Though havehad our greatest we success with the HouseMouse, havealsoused, orderof desirability, we in Meadow Voles (Microtuspennsylvanicus), Mice (Peromyscus Deer sp.), and Pigmy Mice (Baiomys taylori). Of these onlyHouse Micehave proven to be consistently activeenough goodlures. Their activityis not for arrested a hawk passing them and they are easyto keepin .by at captivity. The action ,of individual House Mice actually seemsto improve with .use contraryto all our experience 'withother species of miceand certainly with sparrows. For the large trap (Type III) we havefoundStarlings (Sturnus vulgaris)to be the mostconsistent performers.Two Starlings produce alm. constant will an ost activitywhich is increased, instead halted,rhen a hawkapproaches. birdsare of If left in a bal-chatri more than a few minutes 'for they will )ftenpull

Fig. 2. Bal-ctm. rith mouse. tri

22]

$auary Berger Mueller, BAL-'CHATRI Bird-Banding and Tn,

nooses through the hardwarecloth and hang themselves. This is easilyprevented tying the mandibles by together. We have'hadgoodsuccess keeping in mostspecies mice in oneof poundmetaltobacco canswith perforated covers. The can should be kept abouttwo-thirds full of dry, shredded newspaper, the mice and supplied with grain or commercial mouse pelletsand a little vegetable matter for moistureevery two or three days. We havekeptStarlings successfully afterproviding only dark roosting boxes the cage. We havefoundthemto thrive whenprovided in with dried dog food, and a copious supplyof freshwater.
THE TRAPPING PROCEDURE

Although bal-chatri the can simplybe left in a likely lcation and visitedat intervals,it is most efficiently usedwhen droppedfrom a moving vehicle close possible a sittinghawk. We always as as to carry trapsand mice in our automobiles, trap hawksas 'weencounter and them. Hawks, especially Kestrels,are frequentlyfound perchedon utilitypoles wires. Uponsighting bird we generally ff onto or a pull the shoulder the road, slowdown to ten milesper hour, and drop of

thetrap as we go by. If at all possible try to dropit off from the we side thecarthat is awayfromthebird. It is best open door f to the wide enoughto accommodate droppingprocedure the somewhat in advance the actualdropping of and to hold that position until safely pastthe bird. Any swinging the dooror undue of mvement inside thecarwhiledoseto thesitting hawkis aptto flush it--especially while drivingslowly. In some circumstances, will flushif the above hawks technique usedand it is bestthen to approach bird as closely is the aspossible, the trap, and backup. In eithercase generally drop ve

Fig. 3. American Kestrel caught on Type I bal-chatri.

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1959

Berger Mueller, BAL-CHATRI and THE

[23

park between two and three hundred feet from the bal-chatri while

waiting thehawk come Often is a matter onlyseveral f.or to in. this of

minutesand sometimes only a few seconds.Most of the Kestrels that

come to thetraplandon thetopandare quickly in ensnared during their frenzied attempts clutch lure. It is not always to the evident
just when the bird becomes entangled;however, the road is well if

travelled first passing is likely to answer the car this question since the bird will probably panic. The work of resetting nooses be can considerably reduced retrieving hawkas soon possible. by the as We have found while that trapping good in country is best, it whiledriving
from one bird to the next, to cover the bal-chatri with a cardboardbox

or metal c,ontainer, taking care thenooses notbecome that do depressed. In this way themouse be keptin the trap in total darkness can and
yet is ready at a moment's notice. The result seemsto be a more

livelymouse whenthe trap is in use. Whentrapping slow, keep is we the bait animals their cansor cages, in and do not put themin the
trap until a likely hawk has beensighted.

TRAPPING

SUCCESS

American

Kestrels

More than 90 percentof the birds of prey that we have caught usingthe bal-chatri havebeenAmericanKestrels. We have already caught376 of these birds and as many as 22 in oneday. During tw banding tripsto TexasandMexico--thefirst lasting13 daysin January
1955, and the second daysin December 37 1955, and January1956--

we banded227 Kestrels. Our efficiency during the first trip was 45.8 percent,and on the second was 57.8 percent. Thesefigures were obtainedby dividing the number of Kestrelstrapped by the numberof birdsfor whicha trap wasdropped, providingthat the lure in the trap wasseenby the hawk. In otherwords,we did n,otinclude cases which the bird did not seethe lure droppedfor it. We feel in that we can judge with considerable accuracy whetheror not a hawk
has spottedthe lure. A compositeanalysis of these two trips showsthat we counted a total ,of 1,358 Kestrelsof which we were able to catch 16.7 percent. Actually,however, trappingwas attempted lessthan a third of the on total numberobserved which brings our percentage 52.8. In sumto mary, the fact that we were able to catchone of every tw,oattempted Kestrels a series this size (430) is ampleproo'fof the remarkable in of efficiency this trap. ,or Our most outstanding success with the bal-chatri occurrodwhile

trapping Kestrelsthrough the semi-aridcountry from Mission to Laredo, Texas, on January 7, 1955, where we attaineda catch of 88 percent trapping of the25 birdsfor whichtrapsweredropped. by 22 Our relativetrappingsuccess differentparts of the countryand at in various timesof the year seemed fluctuate to mainly with the availability of insect prey. Our lowest"no response" percentage occurred during the winter seasonin Wisconsinwhere insect prey was nonexistent. Up to the present time we havetrapped Kestrels Wisconsin, in Texas,

24]

January Berger Mueller, B^L-CATRt Bird-Banding and T

Col)rado,Wyoming, Illinois, Tennessee, Mississippi,Louisiana, and

theRepublic Mexico. Nowhere of havewe experiencedcatch less a of

than 50 percent. In Wisconsinwe have trapped and bandedKestrelsduring every monthof the year. Althoughrecords our Wisconsin of trappinghave not beenconsistently kept,we feel that ,r trappingpercentage not is

onlyrelatively high,but surprisingly stable throughout year. For the example, during one-month a period ,beginning 29, 1956,wecaught July 81 percent 21 birdswhile14.3percent notrespond. winter of did Our trapping success variedonlyslightly from thatof the summer.During the9eri,od December 1956,to March1, 1957,we caught percent 1, 80
of 30 birdswhile only 6.7 percent not respond. did In the summer 1956 we madeour first attempts trappingfamily of at Wisconsin.Both adultswere seenin 3 of the groups and neitheradult in the fourth. AH 6 adultswere trapped. A total of 12 youngbirds was observed although probablymore existed. Ten of thesewere

groups Kestrels.Four groups of weretried in or near Milwaukee,

trapped, onlyoneof the 2 that werenot caught .classed but was as unresponsive. September 1956, On 4, al.ong 1 milestretch roadin a of theOwlCanyon about miles 28 northwest FortCollins, of Colorado, we
encountered groupof 15 Kestrels. During the ensuing minutes a 70 whichwereterminated darkness trapped of these by we 12 birds. We felt that.with moretimewe could possibly havetakenall .ofthem. Ten
of thetrapped birdswerejuveniles.
Harris' Hawks

During January our 1955, banding to Texas Mexico were trip and we very much encouragedourunexpected by successtrapping in Harris' Hawks. Being gregarious a species birds frequently these are found in groups three sixindividuals. wedesigned of to So a bal-chatri capable of ensnaring than birdat a time.Although hadanappalmore ,one we lingly inferior at thattimewehadasmany aixHarris' trap as Hawks
surrounding trap at onetime. the

During 1955-1956 to Texas Mexico found our trip and we onlyone area containingrather a dense population thisspecies. of Thiswasin Kenedy County, Texas, along U.S. route which 77 bisects King the
Ranch. On December we drovethroughthis area ratherlate in the 29
afternoon. At this time few of the 44 birds observed reactedto our

lures none caught.OnJanuary when returned and was 22, we through thearea, .encountered we 38 birds. Of these triedfor 18,caught we 8, and2 moreescaped beingtemporarily after caught.We madeonly 2 multiple catches. ,one In instance, Mexico, of a group 2 in both of birds were trapped onetime,andin theother, of a group 3 at all of
were taken. We encountered extremely an fast-reacting bird in the stateof Nuev,o Leon, in Mexico. We dropped trap on a wellthe

travelled highway 20feetfromthebirdwhich perched in a only was low

rathersmalltree. Our car was only 15 feet pastthe trap, whichhad

hardly stopped sliding ong pavement, thehawk upoa al. the when was ;t.

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1959

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Berger Mtzeller, BAL-CHATRI an(/ THE

[25

Red-tailedHawks (Buteo jamaicensis) Red-tailedHawks are generallyquite difficultto trap with a balchatri. We caughtour first oneonly recentlyon the Ty.peII. Several more were caught on a Type III baited with a Starling. It seems likely, however,that the Type II baited with a mousewill ultimately be the more successful trappingthis species. for
Red-shouMeredHawks (Buteo lineatus) We have had even lesssuccess with Red-shouldered Hawks, but then

we have maderelativelyfew attempts catchthem. We caught<ne to on a Type III baitedwith a Starling. Mr. David Seal (personal correspondence) caughta pair of thesebirds near Rockford,Illinois, on a mouse-baited Type II bal-chatri.

Broad-winged Hawks (Buteo platypterus) In the spring of 1956 'we tried the bal-chatrion transientBroadwingedHawks. We were amazed the high degree success. by o'f We failed to catchonly one of the six birds whichwe tried to trap.
Other Birds o/Prey We experimented the Type III or Harris' Hawk trap on several with otherspecies mostlywithoutsuccess. Texaswe usedit successfully In on a Gray Hawk (Buteonitidus) whichwasthe nly onewe tried for. Of several Rough-legged Hawks (Buteolagopus) that we tried to catch, onehovered feet abovethe trap for a shorttime, but this was the ten mostencouraging response obtained. A GreatHornedOwl (Bubo we virginianus) at dusk swooped low over the trap, but did not strike. We caughtseveral BarredOwls (Strix varia) by leavingone of these trapsin their huntingterritories. For all of thesea Starlingwas used
as ,bait.

We have learned that othersusing traps similar to ours have had success several with otherspecies viz., Sharp-shinned Hawk (.4ccipiter
striatus), Marsh Hawk (Circus cyaneus), American Merlin (Fedco

columbarius), Peregrine Falcon (Falcoperegrinus), Goshawk (.4ccipiter gentills), and ScreechOwl (Otus asio). Mrs. FrancesHamerstrom (personal correspondence) caught two MarshHawkson the Type III baitedwith a Starling. Shealsocaught Goshawk the same a on trap baitedonly with the wingsand a few feathers from one of the hawk's previous kills. Dr. Heinz Meng (personal correspondence) developed an ingenious trap of nylon netting over a wire frameworkinsteadof hardwarecloth. Meng used2 traps placedabout4 feet apart. The first, which was about 10 incheshigh and 18 inchessquare,and was baited with about 20 sparrows, seemed serveremarkablywell for to attracting hawkswhich wouldthen swerveover and bind to the the other smallertrap which contained only 2 sparrows. This smaller trap had sloping sidesand was not over4 inches height. During in several trappingtrips on the East Coastduringthe fall of 1956 Meng trapped Merlins,2 Kestrels, Sharp-shin, 1 Peregrine. All of 8 1 and thesebirds were trappedduring migration. In additionto the birds of prey we have had someinteresting experiences several with otherspecies birds. We havetakennumerous of

26]

January Berger ,litteller, BAL-CHATRI Bird-Banding and THz

Shrikes(Lanius ludovicianus L. excubitor),usuallyusinga mouse and lure. On oneoccasion Texasshortlyafter a Kestrelhad landedon in our bal-chatri, a Roadrunner(Geococcyx californianus)darted out from the heavyroadside brushand attacked caged the HouseMouse, but tore the nooses after being momentarily caught.
CONCLUSION

The bal-chatri is a comparatively simple yet extremelyeffective

device trapping for several species raptorsand can probably of be

usedwith some success mostspecies.It is completely on portableand

requires little skillto use. Therehasbeenno mortality among more than400 birdstrapped. Due to the difficulty recognizing of negative
results is hard to ascertain how it just successful havebeenat rewe

trapping.We have,however, retrapped Kestrels--five them six of

once and one twice. We consider the bal-chatri method f hawk

trapping be a mostusefulaccessory the bander. to to

SUMMARY

morethan400 hawks owlsof 7 species, and mostly American Kestrels, with a modified form,ofan old Indiantrapcalled bal-chatri. the Others havehad success at least6 morespecies.Several with different types are usedfor the various species raptors. House ce havebeen of Mi. foundto be the bestall-around lure. The trapping technique usually

During past andone-half wehave the two years trapped banded and

involves dropping bal-chatri a moving the from autom,obile in view of a perching hawk. Those that strikealmost invariably become entangled withinseconds snares in which cover top of thetrap. the
ACKNOWLEDGMENT

We are indebted Mrs. Frances t,o Hamerstrom to Dr. Frederick and

N. Hamerstrom f,or editorial assistance.

REFERENCES

CADE, J. 1955. T. ExperimentsWinter on Territoriality theAmerican of Kestrel,

CnAHr. andCRAIgHEAD, AD, F., J. 1942.LifeWithAn Indian Prince.Natlanai
Falcosparverius. WilsonBulletin, 67(1): 5-17.
Geographic,81(2): 247.

FITCh, S. 1950. A NewStyleLiveTrapfor Small H. Mammals. Journal

HOWARD,E. 1953.A Trigger W. Mechanism Small for Mammal Traps.Journal
HOWELL, C. 1954. Populations Home J. and Ranges Small of Mammals an on
o/ Mammalogy, 34(4): 513-514. o/ MammaIogy, 31(3): 364-365.

MAcPHERSON, 1897.A History Fowling.David H.A. of Douglas, Edinburgh.

CedarGroveOrnithological Station,CedarGrove,Wisconsin, Department and o/ Zoology, University Wisconsin, o.f Madison Wisconsin. 6,

Overgrown Field. Journal Mammalogy, o! 35(2): 177-186.