54 The Food of Some British Wild Birds. 



Post-mortem Records. 



Field Observations. 



That the jackdaw is an inveterate thief, few will deny, but a 

 long acquaintance with the habits of this bird does not justify me 

 in describing it as an injurious species. Insect larvae, beetles, 

 and slugs form a very large proportion of its food, and, although I 

 have watched it carefully in the orchard, the only charge I have 

 against it, is that in dry summers it devours ripe cherries, but 

 these have usually been more than paid for by the number of larvae 

 of the Winter Moth eaten earlier in the season. 



I have been unable to obtain any nestlings, but have watched 

 the parent birds during the breeding season carrying food to the 

 nest, which consists almost entirely of insect larvae. 



Conclusion. 



Unless exceedingly numerous, the good the jackdaw does far 

 outweighs any harm, and I think that frequently its destruction is 

 quite unnecessary. 



