Bal-chatri

[3] The bal-chatri originated in East India as a trap developed and used by falconers to catch suitable birds of prey to train for use in hunting.

It consisted of a small, conical, cane cage, containing live lure birds to attract raptors, and covered with attached horsehair nooses to entangle their feet.

[4] The cage may have a double wall, or a removable roof or inner compartment, both to protect the bait animals from the raptors, and to prevent them damaging the nooses by chewing them.

The traps are designed to be highly portable and may be deployed opportunistically from a slowly moving vehicle on a roadside when a hawk or falcon is sighted perch-hunting from a pole or utility line along a road.

Users require proper training; there are ethical considerations and the need for experience in the use of bal-chatris to avoid harming, and minimizing temporary stress to, the bait animals and the raptors caught.