'A Great Frequenter of the Church.' 131 



are driven in from the fields to the dwellings of man, 

 and lose for a time their accustomed shyness. 



Some there are who always hang about the farm- 

 yard and the cover merely for the sake of plunder, 

 and are at constant feud with the farmer, like the 

 caitiff crow and his handsome cousin the magpie. 



Others, again, like the hawfinch, always keep so far 

 aloof from sign or sound of labour that we hardly 

 realize their presence at all until even their shyness 

 gives way before the rigour of some bitter season, and 

 in their extremity they, too, have to look for corn in 

 Egypt. 



A few birds constantly court the comp'any of man ; 

 some of them nest beneath his roof-tree ; most of them 

 are more or less dependent on his labours for their 

 living. The farmer and the rook, for instance, play 

 into each other's hands ; and were it not for the con- 

 venient shelter of roofs and rainwater pipes, the 

 sparrow and the starling would go far afield to find a 

 place of rest. 



Less common and conspicuous than the rook, but 

 a zealous worker on the farm, and a faithful friend of 

 man, is the light-hearted jackdaw. 



He constantly associates with his sable kinsmen. 

 He will follow the plough with the rook, and roam 

 the sea-beach with the crow, but his quicker move- 

 ments and his sharper speech distinguish him easily 

 from the former ; and although his character is nothing 

 to speak of, and his thievish ways are beyond denial. 



92 



