JACKDAW. 233 



with Rooks, though not as a rule so plentifully north of Spurn 

 as to the south of that point ; it has, nevertheless, been 

 recorded several times at Teesmouth and at Flamborough. 

 On 17th October i88g, a " rush " was noted at the latter place, 

 and in 1894, during the first week in November, an extra- 

 ordinary arrival took place at Easington, in Holderness, 

 flocks of fifty to sixty coming in for three or four days in 

 succession. 



Great numbers of Jackdaws nest on the sea-cliffs, especially 

 on the Flamborough range, and between Staithes and Saltburn. 

 At the former place they commit depredations on the 

 Guillemots' eggs, their modus operandi being to roll the 

 unprotected eggs off the ledges on to the rocks below, and 

 then fly down to enjoy the feast ; at other times they carry 

 the eggs to the cliff tops and devour the contents on the grass. 

 John Hodgson of Bempton says he has known a Daw 

 deliberately roll several eggs from a ledge and then fly down 

 to a lower projection to repeat the process, always keeping 

 an eye on the descending egg to mark where it fell ; the 

 climbers accordingly consider them as inimical to their trade 

 and wage war against them whenever possible. In addition 

 to plundering eggs this species has been detected in the act 

 of killing the chicks of Pheasants and Partridges near Ripley 

 {Field, 23rd July 1892). 



Instances have been known where Jackdaws fought with 

 other birds for the occupancy of a nesting hole in a tree ; 

 at Beverley an unsuccessful attempt was made on the part 

 of a pair of Daws to oust Stock Doves from their nesting 

 place ; and near Richmond, in 1853, a Starling's egg was found 

 in a nest with four eggs of a Jackdaw, an instance, evidently, 

 of dual occupation. At Walton Hall, in 1835, Charles 

 Waterton noted that Jackdaws, to obtain possession of a 

 nesting site, drove away a pair of Tawny Owls which had 

 bred for many years in a sycamore tree. The same naturalist 

 induced a Jackdaw to hatch the substituted eggs of a Magpie. 

 At Scampston, in 1901, several pairs built huge untidy nests 

 in a clump of spruce firs, and similar nests have been observed 

 at Escrick, Sedbergh, and other places, while at Beverley 



