78 Transactions of the 



nests of the previous year are begun to be repaired, and new ones 

 are of course added. As every one knows, the rook very gener- 

 ally builds its nest in the vicinity of old mansions, chiefly because 

 near such places the timber is mostly old and well-grown. The 

 carrion-crow is, I believe, very uncommon about Clifton, but I 

 have not been able to gather any accurate information concerning 

 it. It is very much like the raven, and feeds on all kinds of 

 animal food, alive or dead. It is a most predacious bird, and 

 a great destroyer of young lambs and game. The nest is built on 

 rocks or trees, generally in very lofty situations. It is made of 

 sticks firmly cemented together with mud. Crows are said to pair 

 for life. 



The jackdaw is very commonly seen in Clifton — even more 

 frequently than the rook — chiefly, I suppose, because of the good 

 nesting places it finds in the rocks by the river. There is a very 

 large colony of jackdaws at St Vincent's Rocks. Sometimes you 

 may find their nests in trees, but this is not often the case. The 

 eggs vary from four to six in number, and are of a pale blue 

 colour. 



Magpies are common across the river in Leigh woods. They 

 are generally disliked by gamekeepers and farmers on account 

 of their poaching propensities. The magpie's appetite, like the 

 jackdaw's, is not a very selective one — young lambs, rabbits, game, 

 fish, carrion, and grain, all meeting its requirements. 



Amongst the larger birds, and birds of prey, seen in Clifton 

 and its neighbourhood, I ought to mention the sparrowhawk, 

 kestrel, and owl, all of which may often be observed in Leigh 

 woods and the surrounding country. Sea-gulls are frequently 

 seen in company with jackdaws on the banks of the Avon. The 

 heron, also, is very common in the low fields surrounding the 

 mouth of the river, and also about Penpole Point. 



The only instance on record of the Egyptian vulture occurring 

 in England, happened on the shore of the Bristol Channel in the 

 year 1825 ; one of them was on the wing at the time, and it was 

 seen in the neighbourhood for a few days aftei"wards ; another 

 was feeding on a dead sheep, and, being either too hungry or too 

 sated to be disposed to leave it, was approached sufficiently near 

 to be shot. 



A discussion on this paper subsequently took place, in which 

 the Rev. J. Greene, Messrs. Barrington-Ward, Don, Kent, and 

 Brown took part. 



F. L. Penney afterwards read a paper on ' The Bed of the Avon,* 

 and he exhibited numerous fossils and diagrams in illustration. 

 On this paper J. Stone spoke. 



