184 



The Jackdaw " is by no means a common bird in this neighbour- 

 hood — numbers build out at Pollokshaws, and give us an 

 occasional visit." 



The Magpie in spring is generally seen in pairs, but ' : towards 

 the end of September flocks of 6 or 8. . . ." "I have never 

 seen their nests here, but am told that they build about Craig- 

 park and some of the adjacent woods." The egging propensity 

 of this species is much commented upon. 



The Jay had only come under observation once, viz. : — " on the 

 14th December, 1844 — during a time of hard frost — at the Burn." 



The narrative given by Dr. Grieve, relating to the great 

 encouragement given to the Starling at the time he is writing of, 

 deserves to be quoted pretty fully, as an interesting contribution 

 to the history of the increase of this now very common bird. 

 " Few birds receive more encouragement to build than does this 

 one. On the roofs of almost all the houses hereabouts boxes are 

 placed for them to build in, and though the young brood are not 

 infrequently taken away they continue to frequent them year 

 after year. These boxes are made about 18 inches long and 10 

 broad at the back, while at the front it is reduced to 6. The 

 door or hole for entrance is made very small, and no larger than 

 will admit the bird. They are nailed up by the side of the 

 chimneys, or in the fork of a tree, the former being considered 

 the more agreeable by the birds, and probably so from the warmth 

 of the chimney. . . . During winter they are to be seen in 

 flocks, and do not generally resort to the boxes for sleeping 

 quarters. The number of boxes appear to regulate the number 

 of birds, as when they are taken down in winter and not put up 

 till the birds have been seen looking for suitable nest places, they 

 are seldom so numerous as when the boxes are left up. . . 

 There appears to be a slight mania in the starling box line 

 among our neighbours, which will probably subside in a few 

 years, and then the bird may become more rare. A few build 

 about the Cathedral." The extent to which this guarded fore- 

 cast of the "subsidence" of this species has been falsified, is a 

 matter of common knowledge. 



Under the heading Fieldfare, a narrative is given of its 

 nesting at Millburn, but subsequently the confusion into which 

 the author had fallen between this species and the Mistle-Thrush 



