106 CORVID^E. 



Jackdaw began its nest on a step of a stone staircase in 

 Saunby Church, near Lea. The staircase is spiral, and 

 the steps narrow and steep. Finding it could not get a 

 firm base so that the nest should be flat and fit to sit 

 on, the birds brought sticks till they piled it up five or six 

 steps, after which came a landing, and then they finished 

 their work securely. The clergyman of the place bore 

 testimony to the quantity of sticks brought together, the 

 labour of collecting which must have been quite extraor- 

 dinary. Mr. Jesse has mentioned another instance ; a re- 

 presentation of the structure being placed opposite the 

 title-page of his ' Scenes and Tales of Country Life.** 



The Jackdaw lays from four to six eggs ; these are ge- 

 nerally produced in May, and the young are hatched by 

 the end of the month, or very early in June. The eggs 

 are of a pale bluish white, spotted with ash colour and 

 clove brown ; the length one inch seven lines, by one inch 

 and half a line in breadth. The young birds, which are 

 usually fit to take from the nest by the end of the second 

 week in June, are easily tamed, and much attached to 

 those who feed them. They soon learn to imitate the 

 sounds of the human voice, and exhibit other amusing 

 qualities. Some remarkable instances are related in the 

 Magazine of Natural History,* and in works upon Orni- 

 thology. The voice of the Jackdaw is more shrill than 

 that of the larger Crows, and like them, it is by no 

 means particular as to the quality of its food, eating in- 

 discriminately insects, seeds, or grain, eggs, or carrion ; 

 on the sea shore, shell-fish, or the remains of other fish, 

 and Crustacea ; it may be seen perched on the back of 

 sheep to gather wool for its nest, or to pick out any pa- 

 rasitic insect it may find in such a situation : occasionally 



* Vol. vi. p. 516, and vol. vii. p. 151. 



