400 ANECDOTES OF THE JACKDAW. 



degrees he contrived to singe all the feathers from his forehead and nostrils, and once 

 burned his foot rather severely. 



He was greatly afraid of thunder, and had a singular power of predicting a coming 

 storm. In such a case he would retire to some favourite hiding-place, generally a dark 

 hole in a wall, or a cavity in an old yew which exactly contained him, and would there 

 tuck himself into a very compact form so as to suit the dimensions of his hiding-place, his 

 body being tightly squeezed into the cavity and his tail projecting along the side. In 

 this odd position he would remain until the storm had passed over, but if he were called 

 by any one whom he knew, his confidence would return, and he would come out of his 

 hole very joyously in spite of the thunder, crying out, " Jack's a brave bird !" as if he 

 entirely understood the meaning of the sentence. He may possibly have had some idea 

 of the sense of words, for he hated being called a coward, and would resent the term with 

 all the indignation at his command. 



There are, however, few birds which are possessed of the ingenuity which characterised 

 this Jackdaw, for it may be noticed that every bird has its own individuality strongly 

 marked, even though the same type of intellectual power may characterise it in common 

 with all others of the same tribe. 



Another Jackdaw, belonging to one of my friends, was a most inveterate poacher, 

 having taken to himself an associate or accomplice in the person of the cat belonging to 

 the house. This oddly matched couple used to make their egress and ingress through 

 a hole in the bottom of a very thick quickset hedge, and as soon as they emerged into the 

 open fields, would immediately hunt for game. Their mode of catching and killing game 

 was not clearly ascertained, but its successful results were evident from the frequency with 

 which they used to bring home dead hares, often as large as the cat, but generally small. 

 On one occasion a singular fluttering of wings and scratching of claws was heard in the 

 hedge, and when the owner of the two animals went to ascertain its cause, he found that 

 they had brought home a hare so large that they could not drag it through the hole in the 

 hedge, and were quite frantic in their eagerness to attain their object, the cat pulling from 

 within, and the Jackdaw pushing from without. 



In the " Annals of Sporting" is recorded a curious anecdote of the attachment displayed 

 by the Jackdaw to its owner. The relator of the anecdote, after making a few casual 

 remarks, proceeds as follows : " I pulled up for the first time to bait at the King's Head, 

 Egham, and soon after my arrival a young man rode into the inn-yard from the opposite 

 direction, and dismounted at the door of the taproom belonging to the hotel. Almost 

 immediately following this common event, a Jackdaw alighted on a shed adjoining, which, 

 however, as those birds are frequently kept at such places, did not attract any particular 

 attention, till the ostler called out, ' Ah ! here you are then again, true to the old house 

 and young master.' I immediately asked whom he meant. 'Why Jack, Sir, yonder!' 

 pointing to the Daw. ' And what of him ?' I went on to inquire. ' Oh ! Sir, he is a most 

 'cute and cunning fellow, and follows his master wherever he goes, either on horseback or 

 on foot.' This awakened my interest, and I received these further particulars of this 

 extraordinary bird. 



He belonged to the son of the ostler of the ' Bush' at Staines, and was constantly fed 

 and taken care of by him, until he became quite his familiar friend ; so much so, indeed, 

 that the circumstance created wonder in the vicinity of its home. So convinced was the 

 ostler of the faith and devotion of his feathered acquaintance, that on one particular 

 occasion, as he was setting off from Staines to Hounslow on horseback, he made a wager 

 a large one for him of two bowls of punch with a person who doubted that the bird 

 would obey the call of his master and follow his route. He then mounted, and exclaiming, 

 ' Come, Jack, I'm going !' put his horse in motion. In a very short time the bird's wings 

 were extended, and he attended the progress and return of his feeder, leaving not the 

 shadow of a plea for the non-payment of the bet which the sceptic had so unwittingly 

 ventured. 



This, and some other circumstances which my informant mentioned, induced me to 

 watch more narrowly the motions of the bird, and I observed him constantly hopping from 

 place to place, and every now and then pitching upon the sill of the window that lighted 



