 ( A ) <unk> sort of bird called solitaires which are very good ( to eat ) and the beauty of their plumage is most fascinating for the diversity of bright colours that shine on their wing and around their necks ... There are birds in such great confusion and so tame that it is not necessary to go hunting with firearms , they can so easily be killed with a little stick or rod . During the five or six days that we were allowed to go into the woods , so many were killed that our General [ de La <unk> ] was constrained to forbid anyone going beyond a hundred paces from the camp for fear the whole quarter would be destroyed , for one needed only to catch one bird alive and make it cry out , to have in a moment whole flocks coming to perch on people , so that often without moving from one spot one could kill hundreds . But , seeing that it would have been impossible to <unk> out such a huge quantity , permission was again given to kill , which gave great joy to everyone , because very good fare was had at no expense . 
