Chicken Catchers
Like most traps, the chicken catcher relies on a set of slipnooses to catch its prey, in this case the ubiquitous wild chickens of the islands.
There are many different kinds of chicken catcher. One used by the Sulod, who call this kind of trap si-ay, involves arranging several rattan slipnooses on a long piece of cane held up by pegs driven into the ground. Behind the trap sits a basket enclosing a tame cock; when a wild rooster runs to fight the crowing cock, it is entangled in the tightening slipnooses.
Another Sulod trap, called a bituka, involves a small platform made of twigs, over which a set of nooses is placed. When a chicken goes after the food placed under the platform, it releases a trigger bar that springs the snare into action.
The Sulud also use a simple trap called a si-ed, which involves a trigger bar placed across the habitual trail of certain ground fowl. The trigger bar releases a springy branch to which the nooses are attached, ensnaring the bird.
