86 Birds of an Oxford College 



breeds nowadays exclusively in holes and crannies, 

 it still retains the habit of building a substantial 

 nest with a stick foundation, like those of the rook 

 and crow and its other relatives which nest in 

 trees. In obedience to this traditional obligation, 

 the two or three pairs of jackdaws which haunt the 

 quadrangle undergo much earnest labour in collect- 

 ing sticks in the neighbouring college gardens or 

 in the meadows, and transporting them across the 

 roof-tops, often by singular feats of flight, to the 

 difficult recesses which they have | chosen. For the 

 pairs which nest somewhere on the high plateau of 

 the roof, and are espied but fitfully among the 

 precipitous recesses of the chimney-stacks, it is a 

 comparatively easy matter to drop anchor in the 

 desired haven, once they have fairly risen in air with 

 their awkward burden. But the enterprise is far 

 more difficult for the two birds which nest behind 

 the rain-worn statue that watches in its high niche 

 above the quadrangle, softened by gathering years 

 and the west winds beating from the Cumnor Hills. 

 Their nest is hidden in the space behind the protect- 

 ing figure ; and it is no simple matter for the laden 

 bird to drop from the parapet of the roof down half 

 the depth of the wall, and then to check itself at the 

 right moment, without losing its balance and being 

 forced to let the stick fall from its bill. The prob- 

 lem varies considerably, according to the shape and 

 weight of each stick. Sometimes the bird seems 

 fully master of its material, and drops to its nesting- 

 place by a single skilful flight ; sometimes it is forced 

 to alight upon the patient shoulder, and to lay down 



