262 THE NATURAL HISTORY 



had been struggling in a cavity half full of water. 

 Their wings were so clogged with wet and dirt, that 

 three of the number came fluttering helplessly to the 

 ground, and only one escaped to tell of the fate of the 

 other two. After the adjustment of these differences, 

 other contingencies, incidental to the important busi- 

 ness in which they are engaged, have to be met, and 

 their arrangements directed to this end are very 

 efficient, their vigilance especially is very wonderful. 

 While one of a pair is engaged in the hollow of a tree, 

 the other mounts guard among the branches above, 

 and, at the least evidence of danger, sounds a note of 

 alarm so expressive, that even to me, who am unversed 

 in jackdaw dialect, it is sufficiently intelligible, and, of 

 course, the object of solicitude instantly escapes- 

 literally ' hops the twig.' After the labours of the 

 day, they frequently congregate on the tree tops in 

 small detached parties to. pass the evening in social 

 chat ; if, when they are so engaged, I endeavour to 

 approach them with the gun, I scarcely need say that 

 they very provokingly repel my advances, and melt 

 into thin air, right and left, as I proceed. How often 

 have I at such times seen one of the fugitives, after a 

 short flight, suddenly turn back and make a hurried 

 circuit high above the tree he had just left, to give a 

 friendly warning, repeated again and again if neces- 

 sary, to an individual that had imprudently remained 

 behind ! How frequently, too, have I been amused 

 at their behaviour when they are collecting their 

 building materials. Just at that time of the year 

 when the fallow deer is doffing his winter suit to 

 assume a new one technically 'shedding his pens' 

 the jackdaw finds it convenient to appropriate the 

 rejected materials, as the best he can find in sufficient 

 quantity, for the lining of his nest, and his proceedings 

 on the occasion are characterized, in some individuals 

 at least, by a singular absence of ceremony. Not 

 content with the scattered tufts, which with a little 



