Bird glue

--- CONTENT ---
Bird glue is a very tough and sticky mass used in the production of glue rods during bird fishing.

History
Already in Roman times, bird trappers struck rods with a greenish yellow liquid obtained from the ripe berries of the pistulas (Viscum spp.). The glue was called viscum like the plant in Latin (metonymy: the raw material stands for what is produced from it).

To make the glue even stickier and protect it against dehydration, thickened pear and plum juice and honey were also added. The glue was spread on birch branches, which were placed on a stick knocked into the ground. Next to this stick was set up a cage with a decoy. Thus, spruce cross beaks and other finch birds were preferentially caught to have entertainment in the winter as these birds sing beautifully. In winter, thrushes for consumption were recreated with glue rods placed on bushes. This was practiced throughout Europe until the 19th century.

In the western part of the Duchy of Saxony-Altenburg this glue was also called Altenburger glue. Due to its color, the name green bird glue was also common. For its production, the whole mistletoe plant or the inner bark of the holly was also used in part. For reasons of shelf life or as extenders, turpentine was partially added.

In addition, there was brown bird glue, a mass of linseed oil thickened to a strong varnish, as well as Oriental bird glue (Viscum damascenum), which was made from the fruits of oak mistletoe (Loranthus europaeus) or a cordia species (Cordia sebestena).

In Japan, the bark of the mochi tree (Ilex integra) was used to produce bird glue.

Since 1979, bird fishing has been banned in principle in the European Union under the Birds Directive. Leim rods (now often made with synthetic glue) have nevertheless continued to be used as bird traps in southern France, northern Italy, Cyprus and Catalonia, in contravention of EU regulations, sometimes with exemptions for traditional hunting or official toleration. In most areas of France (August 2020), Italy and Cyprus, the use of leim rods has been declared illegal. The supreme French administrative court in Paris, the Conseil d’État, confirmed on 28. On 1 June 2021, the European Court of Justice issued a judgment of March 2021, also banning glue fishing in the five departments (Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Alpes-Maritimes, Bouches-du-Rhône, Var and Vaucluse), where the practice was still allowed with a derogation. The fact that this hunt is a “traditional method” is not enough to justify an exception.

Other
During the Second World War, British anti-tank hand grenades of the type HGR No. 74, so-called sticky bombs, were coated with bird glue. You should, from the remover