In Latino America, where wingshooting can be synonymous with triple digit totals of wildfowl shot, it is the unsung bird boys who are often undervalued yet are pivotal components to the experience of visiting gringos. Bird boys have been a longtime fixture in both Argentinian and Mexican bird hunting traditions and culture, where they hold key responsibilities as caddies of the marsh and field. They are the Spanish version of the overly stuffy English loader, offering a more colorful hunting partner to paying shooters. These field assistants help foreign clientes who barely speak Spanish, other than baño and mas cerveza, to hunt, and shoot quail (bobs, Montezuma, valley), pheasants, pigeons, perdiz, flocks of ducks, and of course, waves of doves. Bird boys must be high energy in order to assist bird hunters during long days afield, filling many roles as they perform various tasks prior to, during, and after hunts. They may organize shooting locations, clear walking paths, prepare and build blinds, function as human porters to carry shells, shotguns, stools, food, and refreshments, and even assist dog handlers. Once at a location, bird boys keep hunters, who can be assigned up to two each, reloaded, track how many birds have been shot, and if necessary, enter boldly, pushing through thick brush with machetes or wade into the water to retrieve downed birds. Hunting our southern bordering neighbor, bird boys are used instead of blockers. They proceed to spread out and walk the fields, making as much noise to push birds to posted shooters. Quail hunting is similar, as bird boys drive coveys out from cover. This tactic is akin to English and
African organized beaters pressuring birds to flush.
One of the more vital jobs bird boys perform, is to use their keen vision to spot flying birds, whether upland or waterfowl. In ol’ Mejico, huachale – pronounced watch-a-lay – is a butchered Spanglish word yelled to grab the attention of dove hunters indicating incoming birds. In Argentina, “Allá, allá!” (There, there!), is familiarly echoed by bird boys, as they tend to be the shot callers in the blinds and fields. At midday, bird boys may be called upon to put on an impromptu asado, a traditional Argentinian barbecue which involves cooking steaks or wild fowl over a parilla or grill. After hunts, they pick up spent shells and clean the fields. For waterfowlers, bird boys are masterful and skilled at setting up decoys, and at reading and calling in patos (ducks). These calls are certainly not the fancy cocobolo wood duck calls with a shiny luster that cost a couple of Benjamin’s, nor are they of the brown or green plastic persuasion, mass produced at a factory. For untold decades bird boys have used what is available…the spent and repurposed brass of two shells. Through ingenuity and some trial and error, a simple yet effective duck whistle was fabricated using mostly 12-and-20-gauge hulls.
Capable enough to charm a variety of ducks with a simple whistle, peep or chirp, these homemade calls replicate wigeon, pintail, and teal, bringing ducks in for paying cazadores (hunters). These recycled duck calls transcend across Central and South America, as I recall even in my own country of Guatemala, tales from my father, of bird boys using the same call in the 1950s.
Many of the ranchos and estancias are the top employers for nearby towns, often hiring from whatever rural area the hunt or shoot will be that day. Upwards of 100 bird boys can be on the payroll. On average, $50 U.S. dollars is the amount earned by each bird boy plus tips. The more established bird boys may have their own quarters at the hunting lodge, which would provide additional amenities for work as a bird boy.
And, don’t let the term bird boy fool you, as it is not demeaning in nature. The title is exalted, and competition can be fierce, and well-earned once it is given. Men as old as thirty and lads as young as ten are eager to hold the position and manage all the chores that come with being a bird boy with pride and local stature. For them it is a means of helping themselves and their families. If hunting in the good ol’ U.S. of A, bird boys might be called avian strategists and retrieval specialists, but the job would be the same.
At days end, nights are spent cleaning birds, readying gear, and going to bed early. By dawn’s early light, they are rested and ready for the morning flight. Up well up before the crack of dawn, they are ready to do it all over again, and the day after that, in a never-ending cycle during the hunting season to assist wingshooting guests in any way possible, without ever showing they are losing the energy – or passion of being a Bird Boy.