64 BIRDS AND MAN 



from an instance which has quite recently come to 

 my knowledge. In this case a small colony of daws 

 have been noticed for several years past breeding 

 in stick nests placed among the clustering foliage 

 of a group of Scotch firs. This colony may have 

 sprung from a bird hatched and reared in the nest 

 of a carrion crow or magpie. Still, the habit of 

 breeding in holes must be very ancient, and 

 considering that the jackdaw is one of the 

 most intelligent of our birds, one cannot but be 

 astonished at the rude, primitive, blundering way 

 in which the nest-building work is generally per- 

 formed. The most we can see by carefully watch- 

 ing a number of birds at work is that there appears 

 to be some difference with regard to intelligence 

 between bird and bird. Some individuals blunder 

 less than others ; it is possible that these have 

 learned something from experience ; but if that be 

 so, their better way is theirs only, and then- young 

 will not inherit it. 



One morning at Wells as I stood on the cathedral 

 green watching the birds at their work, I witnessed 

 a rare and curious scene one amazing to an orni- 

 thologist. A bird dropped a stick an incident 

 that occurred a dozen times or oftener any minute 

 at that busy time ; but in this instance the bird 



