Birdlime or bird lime is an adhesive substance used in trapping birds. It is spread on a branch or twig, upon which a bird may land and be caught. Its use is illegal in many jurisdictions.
Birdlime or bird lime is an adhesive substance used in trapping birds. It is spread on a branch or twig, upon which a bird may land and be caught. Its use is illegal in many jurisdictions.
Historically, the substance has been prepared in various ways, and from various materials.
In South Africa, birdlime (called voëlent in Afrikaans) is prepared from mistletoe fruits. A handful of ripe fruits is chewed until sticky, and the mass is then rubbed between the palms of the hands to form long and extremely sticky strands which are then coiled around small thin tree branches where birds perch. [1]
A popular form in Europe was made from holly bark, boiled for 10 to 12 hours. After the green coating is separated from the other, it is stored in a moist place for two weeks. It is then pounded into a thick paste, until no wood fibres remain, and washed in running water until no small specks appear. After fermenting for four or five days, during which it is frequently skimmed, the substance is mixed over a fire with a third part of nut oil. It is then ready for use. [2]
Another popular form made in Asia is from the Ilex integra tree. [2] The shrub Ceodes umbellifera was also commonly used by indigenous Hawaiians as they drove many species extinct for their feathers. [3]
On Orchid Island, the Tao people also use Ilex integra, which they call niket. People of the island's villages have historically used it to trap several kinds of birds. In the village of Yayo, people used it on bamboo sticks to catch the Brown-eared bulbul. Their village song describes this practice. [4]
Birdlime from Damascus was supposed to be made of sebestens, their kernels being frequently found in it; this version was not able to endure frost or wet. [2] That brought from Spain was said to have a bad odor. [2] That of the Italians was made of mistletoe berries, heated, mixed with oil, as before; to make it water resistant, they added turpentine. [2] It was said that the bark of the wayfaring tree ( Viburnum lantana ) made birdlime as good as the best. [2]
Nathaniel Atcheson, secretary to the Society of Ship-Owners of Great Britain, in his 1811 work On the Origin and Progress of the North-West Company of Canada with a history of the fur trade... mentions birdlime (p 14) as an important import commodity for use in the Canadian west in the late 18th century.
 | The examples and perspective in this section deal primarily with Europe and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject.(October 2021) |
In July 2020, France was poised to outlaw "glue-trapping" (French : chasse à la glu) of birds (thrushes and blackbirds within quotas), using sticks covered in glue, after the European commission threatened legal action and fines. [5] However, in November 2020, advocate general Juliane Kokott ruled that glue-trapping was compatible with the 2009 EU Birds Directive, and an allowable exception to the directive's ban of bird lime use. [6]
In the Valencian region of Spain, birdlime (locally known as parany) is commonly used to capture the song thrush, which is a delicacy throughout Spain and is used in many local recipes. In spite of the EU's attempts to curb this practice, it is still tolerated in this region. [7] [8] [9]
In March 2021 this practice was ruled by European Court of Justice to be illegal in the European Union. [10]
The 4th-century BC Greek writer Aeneas Tacticus recommends (34.1–2) birdlime be used as a substance which will prevent fires from burning wood or other combustible materials, when smeared upon their surfaces.
Birdlime was used in the manufacturing of British sticky bombs during World War II. [11]
Lime most commonly refers to:
Mistletoe is the common name for obligate hemiparasitic plants in the order Santalales. They are attached to their host tree or shrub by a structure called the haustorium, through which they extract water and nutrients from the host plant.
A special protection area (SPA) is a designation under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. Under the Directive, Member States of the European Union (EU) have a duty to safeguard the habitats of migratory birds and certain particularly threatened birds. Together with special areas of conservation (SACs), the SPAs form a network of protected sites across the EU, called Natura 2000. Each SPA has an EU code – for example the North Norfolk Coast SPA has the code UK9009031.
Natura 2000 is a network of nature protection areas in the territory of the European Union. It is made up of Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas designated under the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive, respectively. The network includes both terrestrial and Marine Protected Areas.
The mistle thrush, also spelled missel thrush, is a bird common to much of Europe, temperate Asia and North Africa. It is a year-round resident in a large part of its range, but northern and eastern populations migrate south for the winter, often in small flocks. It is a large thrush with pale grey-brown upper parts, a greyish-white chin and throat, and black spots on its pale yellow and off-white under parts. The sexes are similar in plumage, and its three subspecies show only minimal differences. The male has a loud, far-carrying song which is delivered even in wet and windy weather, earning the bird the old name of stormcock.
Ilex opaca, the American holly, is a species of holly, native to the eastern and south-central United States, from coastal Massachusetts south to central Florida, and west to southeastern Missouri and eastern Texas.
Ambelopoulia is a controversial dish of grilled, fried, pickled or boiled songbirds which is a traditional dish enjoyed by native Cypriots and served in some Cypriot restaurants. It is illegal in Cyprus as it involves trapping wild birds such as blackcaps and European robins. Trapping kills birds indiscriminately, thus internationally protected species of migratory birds are killed as well. Enforcement of the ban has been lax, so many restaurants serve the dish without consequence. As a result, about 2.4 million birds across Cyprus are estimated to have been killed during 2010. According to a BirdLife Cyprus report released in 2014, over 1.5 million migrating songbirds are killed annually, and the number is increasing each year. In 2015 it was estimated that over 2 million birds were killed, including over 800,000 on the British territories Akrotiri and Dhekelia and a further 800,000 on them in autumn 2016.
Viscum album is a species of mistletoe in the family Santalaceae, commonly known as European mistletoe, common mistletoe or simply as mistletoe. It is native to Europe and western and southern Asia.
Viscum is a genus of about 70–100 species of mistletoes, native to temperate and tropical regions of Europe, Africa, Asia and Australasia. Traditionally, the genus has been placed in its own family Viscaceae, but recent genetic research by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group shows this family to be correctly placed within a larger circumscription of the sandalwood family, Santalaceae. Its name is the origin of the English word viscous, after the Latin viscum, a sticky bird lime made from the plants' berries.
Distemper is a decorative paint and a historical medium for painting pictures, and contrasted with tempera. The binder may be glues of vegetable or animal origin. Soft distemper is not abrasion resistant and may include binders such as chalk, ground pigments, and animal glue. Hard distemper is stronger and wear-resistant and can include casein or linseed oil as binders.
Nuisance wildlife management is the selective removal of problem individuals or populations of specific species of wildlife. Other terms for the field include wildlife damage management, wildlife control, and animal damage control. Some wild animal species may get used to human presence, causing property damage or risking the transfer of diseases (zoonoses) to humans or pets. Many wildlife species coexist with humans very successfully, such as commensal rodents which have become more or less dependent on humans.
The Hawaiʻi mamo is an extinct species of Hawaiian honeycreeper. It was endemic to Hawaii Island. It became extinct due to habitat loss, mosquitoes, introduced predators such as the small Indian mongoose, and overcollecting.
Phoradendron leucarpum is a species of mistletoe in the Viscaceae family which is native to the United States and Mexico. Its common names include American mistletoe, eastern mistletoe, hairy mistletoe and oak mistletoe. It is native to Mexico and the continental United States. It is hemiparasitic, living in the branches of trees. The berries are white and 3–6 millimeters (0.12–0.24 in). It has opposite leaves that are leathery and thick. Ingesting the berries can cause "stomach and intestinal irritation with diarrhea, lowered blood pressure, and slow pulse". This shrub can grow to 1 meter (3.3 ft) by 1 meter (3.3 ft).
Ceodes umbellifera, synonym Pisonia umbellifera, commonly known as the birdlime tree or bird catcher tree, is a species of plant in the Nyctaginaceae family. The evergreen shrub has soft wood, small pink or yellow flowers, and produces cavate brown fruit throughout the period March to April. The species has been categorized under different genera in its documented lifetime, being reallocated between Pisonia and Ceodes. Its former genus, Pisonia, is named after a Dutch scientist, Willem Piso, and umbellifera is derived from Latin umbelliferum, denoting the species' big, 'shade-carrying' foliage.
Ilex or holly is a genus of over 570 species of flowering plants in the family Aquifoliaceae, and the only living genus in that family. Ilex has the most species of any woody dioecious angiosperm genus. The species are evergreen or deciduous trees, shrubs, and climbers from tropics to temperate zones worldwide. The type species is Ilex aquifolium, the common European holly used in Christmas decorations and cards.
Bird trapping techniques to capture wild birds include a wide range of techniques that have their origins in the hunting of birds for food. While hunting for food does not require birds to be caught alive, some trapping techniques capture birds without harming them and are of use in ornithology research. Wild birds may also be trapped for their display in captivity in zoological gardens or for keeping as a pet. Bird trapping was formerly unregulated, but to protect bird populations most countries have specific laws and regulations.
Directive 1999/74/EC is legislation passed by the European Union on the minimum standards for keeping egg laying hens which effectively bans conventional battery cages. The directive, passed in 1999, banned conventional battery cages in the EU from 1 January 2012 after a 13-year phase-out. Battery cages were already banned in Germany, Austria, the Netherlands and Sweden prior to 2012. The directive does not apply to establishments with fewer than 350 laying hens or establishments rearing breeding laying hens. Such establishments are, however, subject to the requirements of Directive 98/58/EC. The directive is not supported with fines, penalties or export bans.
The Directive (EU) 2016/943 on the protection of undisclosed know-how and business information against their unlawful acquisition, use and disclosure is a directive of the European Parliament and the European Council which was adopted by the European Council on 27 May 2016, following an agreement reached with the European Parliament on 15 December 2015, and amendment by the Parliament on 14 March 2016.
In the United Kingdom, raptor persecution is a crime against wildlife. The offence includes poisoning, shooting, trapping, and nest destruction or disturbance of birds of prey.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain : Chambers, Ephraim, ed. (1728). "Birdlime". Cyclopædia, or an Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences . Vol. 2 (1st ed.). James and John Knapton, et al. p. 103. Retrieved April 28, 2016. [1]
