226 THE BIRDS OF YORKSHIRE. 



keeper's " Black List," and is consequently subject to incessant 

 persecution whenever it ventures to show itself in a game- 

 preserving neighbourhood. A few years ago as many as 

 twenty-four were procured in one day in Bramham Woods, 

 and in addition to the enmity of the gamekeeper, the bird 

 excites the anger of horticulturists by raiding the gardens 

 when peas and cherries are ripe ; it is not surprising, therefore, 

 to learn that it has become scarce in most parts of Yorkshire, 

 especially near the large towns, in manufacturing districts, 

 and where game is strictly preserved ; though, in spite of 

 its enemies, it continues to nest in many secluded woods and 

 sparsely populated districts. In the higher dales and on the 

 moorlands it is practically absent. It has now ceased to exist 

 in some places where it was formerly a frequent species ; 

 at Lofthouse near Wakefield, and near Halifax it was numerous 

 in the middle of last century, but George Roberts in 1876 

 says it was then extirpated at the former place. In 1836 

 Charles Waterton deplored the decrease of the Jay, even in 

 his park, where all feathered creatures enjoyed complete 

 immunity from harm, and there only two or three nests were 

 annually produced. In the Crinkle Woods near Whitby it is 

 still fairly common, though decreasing greatly of late years ; 

 at Bolton-in-Bowland, in West Yorkshire, it altogether dis- 

 appeared in 1885, then reappeared ten years later and 

 nested, but both old and young were ruthlessly destroyed^ 

 It is local in East Yorkshire, but has long been an annual 

 breeder in the Market Weighton district, where it was 

 formerly much more numerous than now. In 1865 and follow- 

 ing years it was an autumn visitor in some numbers to the 

 public common in Beverley, coming with the Woodcock, 

 Redwings, and Blackbirds, and at Scampston Park it was 

 only a winter visitor until recently, but is now a nesting species. 

 Though not usually classed among our immigrants, the 

 Jay is known to cross the North Sea in autumn, as evidenced 

 by the entries in the Third Migration Report (1883) p. 39, 

 which refer to the great abundance of the bird in our English 

 woodlands in the autumn of 1882. This increase was very 

 pronounced in most parts of this county bordering on the 



