BIRD LIFE IN COLONSAY 57 



and over that a marvellous Destruction and Decay of 

 the Covertures of Thatched Houses, Barns, Reeks, and 

 Stacks, and other such like." The Act (24 Henry VIII, 

 c. 10), of the preamble of which the above quotation 

 forms a part, goes on to enact that " everyone shall do 

 his best to kill and utterly destroy all Rooks, Crows, 

 and Choughs on Pain of a grievous Amerciament, and 

 that every Town and Hamlet shall provide and main- 

 tain Crow Nets during ten years. The Taker of 

 Crows, Rooks and Choughs shall have" after the Rate 

 of Two Pence the Dozen." His " manminded offspring " 

 revived the Statute (8 Eliz. c. 15) and provided that 

 " in every Parish Sums should be raised for the destruc- 

 tion of noyful fowl or vermin ; and for the heads of 

 three old Crows, Choughs, Pies or Rooks, or of six 

 young ones, or for six eggs, was to be given a penny." l 



Two choughs, apparently pets, are prominent 

 objects in the beautiful portrait of three children by 

 Van Dyck, which by the kindness of Lord Lucas 

 adorned for some time the south wall of the right- 

 hand vestibule of the National Gallery. I can hardly 

 attribute the scarcity of these birds in our day to the 

 success of the efforts of our ancestors, spurred on by 

 the Statutes I have quoted. Certainly the rooks are 

 still with us in more than sufficient abundance in spite 

 of their proscription. 



I was able in Colonsay to trace another reason 

 for a diminution in their numbers there. One of 

 the farmers told me that when he was a boy they 

 were so numerous that they were commonly eaten 



1 My attention was called to this Statute by a correspondent of the 

 Spectator, but I rather fancy the choughs alluded to were really jack- 

 daws. 



