112 STRA Y FEA THERS FROM MANY BIRDS. 



principally on acorns and berries, grubs and worms. 

 The Carrion Crow and the Jackdaw are also feathered 

 outcasts, killed off by the gamekeeper at every oppor- 

 tunity, though most useful birds in ridding the land of 

 many of its most troublesome pests. The Raven has 

 long since been exterminated from its English forest 

 haunts ; the Jay, the Carrion Crow, and the Magpie are 

 rapidly following. 



But we have not yet seen half of the keeper's ignorant 

 cruelty and wantonness. He has now passed through the 

 first of the woods under his care, and has come to a sloping 

 hillside thickly covered with brake and brambles. The 

 stems of the bracken are fast shooting upwards amongst 

 the rich brown leaves of the previous season, and the 

 blackberry wires and dog-roses are in full leaf. Evi- 

 dently the keeper knows the ground and the creatures 

 likely to frequent it. He walks slowly up and down 

 amongst the fern, heeding not the rabbits that his dog 

 sends bounding off in all directions, and at last takes a 

 flying shot at a dark-looking bird which rises in a dazed 

 sort of way from under a mass of briars. It is a poor 

 Goatsucker, shot down for no earthly reason but the 

 keeper's wanton love for killing every living thing within 

 his domain. Now, the Goatsucker is one of the most 

 harmless birds, and not a single excuse, even of the 

 most trivial character, can be made for taking its life. 

 The keeper will admit its harmlessness, but justify 



