86 WILD BIRDS 



Rock only the day before I was there, and I heard of 

 single birds and little parties of birds in the same 

 neighbourhood seen by friends. All I could find 

 were carrion crows and the endless jackdaw. One 

 cannot overlook jackdaws along that coast in June. 

 Thousands of them nest in the crevices of the rocks. 

 They insist on being noticed. Jackdaws seem to be 

 privileged guests among the herring gulls as they 

 are among the rooks. Pushful and impudent, they 

 will fly down right in the midst of the sitting gulls. 

 Yet they are borne with. Only once have I seen a 

 gull lose its temper, run at and drive off a too assert- 

 ive jackdaw ; but a gull will sometimes lose patience 

 with a puffin in the same way ; and, on the whole, 

 I think it likely that the jackdaw is privileged on 

 the rocks, as it is privileged among the rooks, because 

 it is on good behaviour in both places and does not 

 touch the eggs. 



There is not much desire, then, to watch these 

 cliff jackdaws whilst one is intent on the saddlebacks 

 and the herring gulls. Yet the daws will be watched, 

 they are so many, so noisy, always in sight and 

 sound at the nesting time. Hundreds of pairs were 

 nesting in the mile of cliff where I was watching the 

 gulls and puffins. They strike me here as brazen 

 birds ; there is something of a house-sparrow's 

 gamin about them. They bustled in and out of their 

 rock chinks and clefts unconcerned at my intrusion. 



A jackdaw has not a great power of flight. He is 

 tossed in the strong sea winds. He cannot cut or 

 glide into an opposing wind like a gull. But he 



