CORVID®. 235 
“Tn and out 
Through the motley rout, 
That little Jackdaw kept hopping about 
Here and there 
Like a dog in a fair.” 
It may be taught to imitate the human voice, which 
it does with considerable success. 
In plumage the Jackdaw somewhat resembles 
most of the other of the Corvide hitherto noticed. 
The irides are greyish white, which gives it a very 
roguish and knowing look; the beak is black; the 
top of the head black; the back of the head and 
neck grey: the whole of the rest of the plumage is 
black, but not quite so glossy as that of the Rook: 
legs, toes and claws shining black. Varieties of this 
bird occasionally occur, the most general being white 
or pied. 
The egg of the Jackdaw is considerably smaller 
than that of the Rook, and is much more distinctly 
marked ; the ground colour is a light greenish blue, 
very distinctly spotted with black: the spots vary 
considerably in size and number. 
Maepis, Pica caudata. ‘This very beautiful, but 
somewhat mischievous, bird is resident with us 
throughout the year and is still tolerably common all 
over the country, although it is persecuted by game- 
keepers with more than ordinary pertinacity, on 
account of its egg-stealing propensities, to which it 
adds the still graver crime of killing young birds 
