182 A PHILOSOPHER WITH NATURE 



lead them to spots more productive of food. Anato- 

 mists," he quaintly adds, " say that rooks, by reason 

 of two large nerves which run down between the 

 eyes into the upper mandible, have a more delicate 

 feeling in their beaks than other round-billed birds, 

 and can grope for their meat when out of sight. 

 Perhaps then their associates attend on them from 

 motives of interest, as greyhounds wait on the 

 motions of their finders, and as lions are said to 

 do on the yelpings of jackals." 



The jackdaws, like the rooks, used to be much 

 commoner about London than they are now. They 

 go in flocks in the winter but pair off in the breeding 

 season. If they bred in London they would pro- 

 bably keep the sparrow down, for the jackdaw is 

 rather an awkward neighbour for the smaller birds ; 

 he robs their nests and carries off the unfledged 

 young as dainty morsels. Church steeples and ivy- 

 covered ruins within easy reach of the open country 

 are the jackdaw's favourite breeding places. In the 

 absence of such he has forsaken London at present ; 

 but he will doubtless return to await the advent of 

 Macaulay's New Zealander, for the promised sketch 

 of the ruins of St. Paul's would not be complete 

 without him. Cathedral towns he is generally 

 associated with. The birds also build in the dis- 

 used chimneys and continue dropping the twigs 

 down until one lodges crosswise and holds the 

 others, so enabling the foundations of the nest to 

 be laid. 



Although the rooks have forsaken Kensington 

 Gardens some interesting country birds have 

 recently established themselves there. In recent 

 years some wood-pigeons have built their nests 



