CHAPTER III 



DAWS IN THE WEST COUNTRY 



DAWS are more abundant in the west and south- 

 west of England generally than in any other part of 

 the kingdom ; and they abound most in Somerset, 

 or so it has seemed to me. It is true that the largest 

 congregations of daws in the entire country are to 

 be seen at Savernake in Wiltshire, where the ancient 

 hollow beeches and oaks in the central parts of the 

 forest supply them with all the nesting holes they 

 require. There is no such wood of old decaying 

 trees in Somerset to attract them to one spot in such 

 numbers, but the country generally is singularly 

 favourable to them. It is mainly a pastoral country 

 with large areas of rich, low grass land, and ranges 

 of high hills, where there are many rocky precipices 

 such as the daw loves. For very good reasons he 

 prefers the inland to the sea-cliff as a breeding site. 

 It is, to begin with, in the midst of his feeding ground, 

 whereas the sea-wall is a boundary to a feeding 

 ground beyond which the bird cannot go. Better 

 still, the inland bird has an immense advantage over 



