Bird Life in a Suburban Parish 



59 



IJke so iiianv otlicr timid hii'ds, it shows c'oiisi(lcnil)lc couraire 

 ill defence of its youni>-. One day last year, passing- along a 

 hcd<>'C-sidc, I heard a Thrush in distress, and found the mother- 

 bird d()in<>- her best una\ailingly, of course to drive away 

 a pair of niaraudino- Jackdaws, which were bent on devourino- 

 her half-Hedged youn*)-. One young bird had to be killed 

 to put it out of its pain, the black robbers haviug pecked 

 hu'ge holes in its plump and tender body. On returning 

 some hours later, the empty and bloodstained nest showed 

 that the villainous Jackdaws, undeterred at l)ein<>' dri\'en off' 

 had returned as soon as my back was turned, and had 

 completed their nefarious ban(juet. 



On another occasion, while waiting for a Xightjar to 



Nest of Gardex-warbler {Sylvia hortciists) 



