APRIL. JACKDAWS — PEREGRINE FALCONS. 215 



over the wall, and waited there for the mail to 

 pass. As soon as it came opposite his station off 

 he set, galloping round and round the field with 

 his heels generally higher than his head, and his 

 long mane and tail streaming out, evidently show- 

 ing himself off to obtain the applause of the pas- 

 sengers, to whom he seemed to afford daily amuse- 

 ment, as every head was turned back to see him 

 as long as they possibly could. 



Biding by the heronry on the Findhorn I saw the 

 keeper at Altyre searching in all the jackdaws' nests 

 that he could reach for the remains of the herons' 

 eggs. These active little marauders live in great 

 numbers in the rocks immediately opposite the 

 herons, and keep up a constant warfare with them 

 during the breeding season, stealiug an immense 

 number of their eggs, which they carry over to the 

 holes and crevices of the opposite rocks and eat 

 them, out of reach of the herons. The keeper took 

 handfuls of the shells of the herons' egcrs out of 

 some of the jackdaws' holes : the injury to the 

 heronry from this cause must be very great, as 

 the plundering seems to be incessantly going on. 



I see that the peregrine falcon still breeds near 

 the heronry : a pair only remain in the rock, as 

 every season they drive away their young ones to 

 find a resting-place elsewhere. The barn owl also 



