JACKDAW. 17 



t, whether close to, or remote from the dwellings of man: 

 male and female are believed to pair for life. They are 

 sociable birds, and friendly among themselves, dwelling together 

 in considerable numbers, and associating also with the Rooks, 

 with whom they intermingle. 



The flight of this species is more quick than that of the 

 Rooks, and performed with more repeated flappings of the 

 wings: they are seldom observed to sail. 



The Jackdaw feeds on insects, shell-fish, dead fish and 

 animals, eggs, grain, and seeds. It may often be seen ento- 

 mologizing on the backs of sheep, which also supply its staple 

 of wool for the formation of its nest. 



The well-known 'caw' of the Jackdaw is expressed by this 

 word. It is more shrill than that of the larger species of 

 the genus. 



Jackdaw r s build in cliffs, church and other towers, rabbit 

 burrow's, the roofs of buildings, the holes of ruins, hollow 

 trees, the sides of chalk-pits, and even in chimneys, despite 

 of the smoke, as if conscious that it could not blacken their 

 plumage: they inhabited the ruins of Stonehenge, in Pennant's 

 time, and may do so yet. The nest is built of sticks, and 

 is lined with wool, hair, grass, and other soft substances. 

 Very large quantities of sticks are collected for the purpose, 

 so as even to block up chimneys, and the spiral stairs of 

 church towers; the immense masses heaped together in the 

 western towers of York Minster, formed a most unfortunate 

 kind of firewood for that tremendous conflagration. They 

 used to build in the tower of my own church, but when ft 

 was restored, wire net-wwk was placed in the belfry windows, 

 so as effectually to stop them there; one persevering pair, 

 however, would not be even thus foiled, but actually brought 

 a mass of sticks through one of the loop-holes in the tower, 

 and though their being naturally conveyed crosswise in their 

 bills created an almost insuperable difficulty, quantities falling 

 down outside, yet it was marvellous to see the numbers which 

 'by hook or by crook' they got in. The spiral nature of 

 the staircase increased their difficulty, so much larger a quantity 

 of materials being required to make a foundation. One instance 

 is related by Alexander Hepburn, Esq., in the 'Zoologist,' of 

 tlie .Jackdaw having built on the branches of trees. 



The eggs, from four to six in number, are pale bluish white, 

 spotted with grev and brown. The young are hatched the 

 end of Mav. 



