102 BIRDS OF IVnDDLESEX. 



indulgent, but it appears to us that Nature, in the 

 distribution of species, maintains an even bahmce, 

 which should not be interfered with. "We declare 

 war against birds which prey upon insects, and we 

 discover our mistake when our crops are nearly 

 destroyed. We assist in exterminating Hawks and 

 Owls, and small birds and mice unduly increase. 

 Should not our motto rather be, " Live, and let 

 live ? " 



Jackdaw, Corvus monedula. Thinly distributed 

 in the county, where it is resident throughout the 

 year. It is a sociable bird, and may generally be 

 seen flocking with Rooks and Starlings, in search of 

 the same sort of food. I have noticed Jackdaws 

 breeding annually in the ivy-covered church-tower 

 at Stanmore and in the church spires of Northolt, 

 Harrow, and Hampstead. 1 have also obtained the 

 eggs from some hollow trees on the Rosslyn Park 

 Estate, Hampstead, and from some old pollards in 

 the neighbourhood of Harrow Weald. 



It is not an uncommon thing to see Jackdaws in 

 London, and I know more than one house in the 

 chimneys of which Jackdaws build every year. 



A curious variety of this bird, in the collection of 

 a friend, was killed some years ago at Hammer- 

 smith. The scapulars, and part of the back, are of 

 a beautiful bronze colour. 



Magpie, Corvus pica. A resident species, thinly 

 distributed over the county. In the neighbourhood 



