The wonderful bark has been left on this unsplit California Peppertree (Schinus molle) branch flute, measuring 14 3/4" in length and tuned to a clear, sweet high D# minor pentatonic Modes 1 & 4.   Deer leather lacing with horn bone and brass beads holds the bird to the nest.   The branch for this flute was gathered sustainably, with respect and prayer, from a tree that grows in the San Marcos Creek watershed of southern California.  

Shamanic use of Peppertree:  Brought to Mexico by the Spaniards from South America hundreds of years ago,
Peppertree now grows abundantly in the wild there, where it is known by the name of "pirul", also naturalizing throughout the American Southwest.  It has become an important part of Mexican traditional medicine, as its branches are used to "sweep" a person's body and thus "cast away all bad luck" and the "evil eye".  This ceremony, called "una barrida con pirul" is common practice in many rural communities in Mexico today.