GENERAL PREFACE xi 



do undoubtedly poach a little ; yet surely 

 their total extermination would be a griev- 

 ous error on our part. On none of the 

 winged inhabitants of this country is more 

 marked and brilliantly coloured plumage 

 to be seen than on the jay and magpie, 

 whilst the quaint flight and notes of these 

 birds add much to the interest and variety 

 of our woodland scenes. 



It may be asked which is the bird that 

 is really most destructive to the eggs and 

 young of pheasants, partridges, grouse, &c. ? 

 It is, I believe, the carrion crow. One of 

 the most capable and knowledgeable head 

 keepers I know he has had fifty years of 

 keepering writes to me : " I consider the 

 carrion crow the most destructive bird for 

 game, eggs, and young birds. The magpie 

 is equal in destroying eggs, but I never 

 knew one take young birds." In this view 

 I concur. 



In regard to vermin traps, I hope that 

 the knowledge as to which are the most 



