Existing comment:
This live pigeon carrying basket, perch (or stool) and net were used to capture wild pigeons. The word "stool pigeon" became synonymous with "decoy," and in later years, hunters often referred to their decoys as stools.
The passenger pigeon was hunted heavily for the market until its numbers decreased in the 1890's; and by 1914, the species was extinct.
This painting by Arthur F. Tait shows two men hunting pigeons from a bush blind. Live pigeons, tethered to movable sticks on the distant tree served as decoys.
As the wild flocks approached, one of the hunters pulled the strings attached to the decoys' perches causing the birds to flap their wings and attract the flying pigeons. |