236 The Dem. 



ridiculous position of endeavouring to fill a house, 

 the only difference being that, while the blue-jay 

 dropped acorns through a knot hole in the roof, 

 the jackdaw drops sticks down a chimney, the 

 result in both cases being equally unsatisfactory to 

 the labourer. 



It is astonishing what an enormous mass of 

 sticks one pair of jackdaws will collect, as will 

 be seen from the following among other recorded 

 cases. One nest which was built in seventeen days 

 in the bell-tower of Eton College Chapel formed a 

 solid pillar ten feet in height, while another in 

 Hillington Church, in Norfolk, which took three 

 weeks to build, completely blocked up the tower 

 stairs by a substantial mass some twelve feet in 

 height and a cartload in bulk. Again the Rev. 

 F. O. Morris expresses the opinion that the im- 

 mense masses of sticks heaped together by jack- 

 daws in the western towers of York Minster 

 " formed a most unfortunate kind of firewood for 

 the tremendous conflagration " which took place 

 there. 



The young are hatched at the end of May or 

 beginning of June, and seem to have a curious 

 knack, when half-fledged, of falling out of the 

 nest ; as, where jackdaws are plentiful, young ones 

 may often be found on the ground under the nests, 

 uninjured, but unable to fly. When so caught, or 

 when taken from the nest, they are by no means 

 difficult to rear, and make most amusing, but 

 dreadfully mischievous, pets ; they become wonder- 



