Northern Observations of Inland Birds 263 



generations of miners, their nests in this case being so 

 far in among the crevices that even by the aid of pick 

 and shovel it was impossible to get anywhere near them. 

 Chimney pots and drain pipes afford common refuge. 



The quantity of stuff a pair of jackdaws will collect 

 for the foundation of their nest is really surprising, for 

 in this respect they lack neither enterprise nor energy. 

 Having taken a fancy to a certain dark hole, a pair of 

 jackdaws will sometimes set to work to fill the hole with 

 sticks, albeit they have not the least idea as to the depth 

 of it, and so, by a process of eliminating space, they 

 have it in mind evidently to build a nest on the top of 

 the pile when their object is achieved. Thus, year after 

 year, the birds try to fill up the chimneys of certain old 

 houses they favour, bringing the wrath of the household 

 down upon themselves for the vast amount of dirt and 

 litter they produce. Some years ago I saw a hollow 

 tree which had been twisted and torn open by a gale, 

 and the space down the centre of it, some twelve feet 

 in depth, and three feet in width, was chockablock with 

 small sticks carried there by the jackdaws. Apparently 

 the work was that of a couple of birds in a single season, 

 as there was no indication of old nests on the top of which 

 more material had been added. 



The largest colony of jackdaws I have seen haunts 

 the great circular wall on the top of the hill overlooking 

 the town of Oban, and night after night, particularly 

 during the autumn months, I have been kept awake by 

 the unceasing clamour of these birds. When they sleep 

 no man can say, for at regular intervals thousands of 

 them can be heard to rise into the air, flying over the 

 town for a few minutes ere they again settle, presently 

 to rise again. 



The jackdaws seem to think that they possess hereditary 

 rights with regard to certain of their ancient breeding 



