Bird Life in a Suburban Parish 



12o 



times after a stiff' nale many young birds will be found 

 dead on the ground below. 



The ]{ook is a bird whieh is gradually deteriorating in 

 character. For long he has l)een considered a most respect- 

 able member of society, a friend to the farmer durinii' the 

 greater part of the year, whose only fault was a liking for 

 seed-corn, and a propensity for stealing sticks from his 

 neighbour's nest when his back was turned, instead of 

 honestly collecting them for himself 15ut of late years 

 there has l)een a constant growl from game-preservers that 

 he is acquiring an ever-increasing taste for eggs — not only 

 for I^apwings" eggs and such-like, which would be forgiven 



Nest of Nightjar (Capyiimilgus ciirupa'iis). 



