CORNISH CHOUGHS. 99 



these birds in this way ; for it is extremely -unlikely that the 

 purchasers are familiar with their ways ; and the chances are 

 that the birds will be confined in some aviary, or else, with 

 clipped wings, permitted to mope away a few months' miserable 

 existence, in a backyard or about the garden of their owner, 

 and then terminate their lives before their first year is expired. 



And therefore it is fortunate that some of the nests about T 



are situated in such inaccessible spots, that they are beyond the 

 reach of the most' fool-hardy and experienced climber, even 

 though let down from above by ropes. 



The free wild temperament of Choughs will not brook any 

 confinement, but must have absolute liberty, and full exercise 

 for their wings. If this is not the case, they generally get an 

 attack of asthma, which usually proves fatal, in their first year. 

 One of my present birds had a bad attack of that ailment, 

 several years ago ; when it was young, induced by the foolish 

 clipping of one wing ; and it was only brought through its 

 illness by a liberal use of curry-powder with its food, — a 

 known remedy for trained falcons, when suffering from affections 

 of the throat. To shelter it from the damp outside air, this 

 bird was permitted to sleep during its first winter, in my study ; 

 and though at liberty to choose any spot, it used invariably to 

 select a corner of the mantelpiece, close to the large wheel of a 

 cage of Harvest mice : which wheel, being busy at work most of 

 the night, and generally containing a piece of almond, or small 

 fragment of biscuit, might well, by its noise, have been supposed 

 to interfere with the slumbers of the invalid, but apparently 

 did not. In time the attack was thrown off, and then, with 

 every pinion perfect, the bird began to enjoy life; it has never 

 had a trace of any sickness since, and it is now in the most 

 robust health. It should be mentioned, in passing, as an 

 interesting thing, that this same bird subsequently contrived to 

 break off the tip of its upper mandible (by no means wonderful, 

 considering that a chough must always be pecking at something, 

 the harder the material the better) ; and for a long while the 

 opposite mandible overlapped the broken one, so that the beak 

 did not present a uniform point, but somewhat faintly resembled 

 that of a cross-bill. However the bird managed to wear down 

 the longer one, and now the two mandibles meet perfectly, and 



