124 OUR BIRD ALLIES. 
CHAPTER Vit. 
THE JACKDAW AND THE STARLING, ETC. 
THE JACKDAW—lIts value to the farmer—Vocal capabilities— 
A novel use for a Jackdaw—The Magpie—Prévost-Paradol 
once more—Value of the Magpie—lIts architectural skill— 
The uses of a disused nest—The Chough—The Starling— 
Is the bird a poacher ?—Food of the Starling—How its 
victims are captured—Starlings and cattle—The Starling 
near Chelmsford—Its amazing numbers.—Starlings in newly- 
sown grass—A feathered host and their guide—Nest of the 
Starling. 
THE noisy, impudent Jackdaw is another of the 
many birds which combine in themselves the pro- 
perties of a friend with those of a foe, and, as is so 
frequently the case, the former qualities seem greatly 
to preponderate. That the bird is terribly destructive 
to ripe fruit, peas, &c., its best friend cannot deny ; 
that it devours myriads of injurious insects, its worst 
enemy must perforce admit. 
Especially is this the case during the breeding 
season, at which time the jackdaw carries vast quan- 
tities of insects to its mate and its hungry young. 
But there is no time of year—save, perhaps, during 
hard and prolonged frost—when insects and other 
mischievous creatures do not form a great part of 
its diet; and if its occasional thefts be weighed 
