JACKDAW. 103 



residence of man, and sometimes taking shelter under tlie 

 roof of his dwelling. They have also an air of greater cheer- 

 fulness and activity in their movements. Jackdaws appear to 

 prefer cultivated districts, frequenting and building in church 

 towers, belfries, and steeples. I have observed that a great 

 number constantly inhabit the higher parts of Windsor Cas- 

 tle. Sometimes these birds make their nests in hollow trees : 

 from several good authorities we learn that Jackdaws breed 

 frequently in rabbit-burrows, and on the sea coast they 

 occupy cavities in high cliffs, or perpendicular rocks. It is 

 mentioned by Pennant that these birds make their nests 

 among the large masses of stone at Stone Henge, and Rusti- 

 cus of Godalming says they build in great numbers in the 

 chalk ])it on Katherine Hill, near Godalming. The Rev. 

 Leonard Jenyns, in a note to me, says, " In Cambridgeshire 

 Jackdaws build very much in chimneys, which ai-e sometimes 

 quite stopped up from the quantity of sticks brought toge- 

 ther. Neither do they appear to mind smoke, as I have 

 known them attempt to build in the chimney of a room in 

 which there was a fire kept pretty regularly from day to day. 

 From the quantity of horse-dung which falls into the grates, 

 it would seem that they use this material perhaps for lining 

 the nest." Wool, and other soft substances, are the mate- 

 rials generally used for the lining, the outside is formed of 

 sticks, and the mass collected together is sometimes very ex- 

 traordinary both in quality as well as quantity. At Cam- 

 bridge, says Mr. J. Denson,* there is good accommodation 

 for Jackdaws in the abundant receptacles for their nests 

 which the various churches and college buildings supply, and 

 Jackdaws are numerous at Cambridge. The botanic garden 

 there has three of its four sides enclosed by thickly built 

 parts of the town, and has five parish churches and five col- 

 leges within a short flight of it. The Jackdaws inhabiting 

 * Magazine of Natural History, vol. vi. page. 397. 



