# Fowling

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{{Short description|Hunting of birds}}
{{About||the Chinese county|Fowling, Chungking|the sport|Fowling (sport)}}
{{Distinguish|fouling}}
thumb|Illustration of a hunting dog retrieving a shot duck
'''Fowling''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|f|aʊ|l|ɪ|ŋ}}) is the [hunting](/source/hunting) of [bird](/source/bird)s by [human](/source/human)s, for [food](/source/food) ([meat](/source/meat)), [feather](/source/feather)s or any other [commercially value products](/source/animal_product), or simply for [leisure](/source/leisure) ("[sport](/source/field_sports)ing") or [collecting trophies](/source/trophy_hunting). It is comparable to [wildfowling](/source/waterfowl_hunting), the practice of hunting [waterfowl](/source/waterfowl)s for food or sport. The term is perhaps better known in [the Fens](/source/the_Fens) of [Eastern England](/source/Eastern_England) than elsewhere, but was certainly not confined to the Fens. The land margins of the north produced [down feathers](/source/down_feathers) from [eider duck](/source/eider_duck) for eiderdowns and quilted jackets without necessarily killing the birds. In the [Western Isles](/source/Western_Isles) of [Scotland](/source/Scotland), seabirds were taken from their nests on [cliffs](/source/cliffs). In The Fens and other similar places, a [decoy](/source/Duck_decoy_(structure))<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.decoymans.co.uk/chapter5/page62.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010329220542/http://www.decoymans.co.uk/chapter5/page62.html|url-status=usurped|archive-date=2001-03-29|title=THE BOOK OF DUCK DECOYS}}</ref> was part of a landowner's well-equipped estate.
thumb|Fowler with a punt gun
The epitome of fowling was, however, the [punt gun](/source/punt_gun)ner. He had what amounted to a long, [small-bore](/source/Caliber) [muzzle](/source/Firearm_muzzle)-loaded [cannon](/source/cannon). It was mounted along the centre-line of the forward half of a specially designed [boat](/source/punt_(boat)) which slightly resembled a heavy wooden [kayak](/source/kayak) in form. The fowler lay in the after half with paddle blades strapped to his forearms. The skill was to stalk a raft of duck until within the rather short range required and to fire the gun from which small shot scattered. It remained to gather up the harvest and get it to market. In the winter, the punt gun might be mounted on a [sled](/source/sled) and the procedure repeated on the same principles.

== See also ==
* [Wildfowling](/source/Wildfowling)
* [Upland hunting](/source/Upland_hunting)
* [Gun dog](/source/Gun_dog)
* [Snipe hunt](/source/Snipe_hunt)

==References==
===Notes===
{{Reflist}}

===Bibliography===
Sly, R. ''From Punt to Plough'' (2003) {{ISBN|0-7509-3398-4}}.
*For decoys, see pp.&nbsp;131–133.
*For punt gunning, see pp.&nbsp;125–130.
*For netting, see pp.&nbsp;135–138.

{{Authority control}}
{{Hunting topics}}

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{{hunting-stub}}

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Fowling](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fowling) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fowling?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.