34 Bird-keeping. 



mistress of the house looked about in vain for the chil- 

 dren ; at last she opened the drawer from which the 

 sou ; nd seemed to come, and out hopped the bird. A 

 house in London was once set on fire by a Jackdaw, 

 who carried a box of lucifer-matches upstairs, and 

 rubbed them on the floor till the bed-clothes caught 

 fire. 



The CORNISH CHOUGH or RED-LEGGED CROW 

 (Fregilus graculus] much resembles the Jackdaw in 

 manners and colour, but has a curved orange-red bill, 

 very like coral, and very brittle, and red legs and feet, 

 with strong black hooked claws. It inhabits the sea- 

 coasts, where it builds in rocks and caves, and occasion- 

 ally in ruined towers. Its natural food is grain and 

 insects, but in confinement it will eat flesh greedily, and 

 becomes very tame and docile, but is as mischievous as 

 the Jackdaw. On a lawn where five Choughs were 

 kept, one part of it was always brown, and this was 

 caused by the continual tearing up of the grass by 

 the roots by these birds in search of grubs. Colonel 

 Montagu had a tame Chough in his garden for some 

 years, which was very troublesome from its extreme 

 curiosity. If the gardener was pruning or nailing up 

 the trees, he would examine the nail-box, carry off the 

 nails, and scatter the shreds about, mount up the ladder, 

 run round the wall, and try to get in at the windows 

 of the house. He was very fond of being caressed, 

 especially by one lady, to whom he became exceedingly 



