THE LONDON DAW 53 



their nests ; and in that city and in many other 

 towns the birds are accustomed to come to the 

 gardens and window-sills, to be fed on scraps 

 by their human neighbours and friends. 



While the daw has diminished with us, and 

 is near to vanishing, the common pigeon — the 

 domestic variety of the blue rock — has increased 

 excessively in recent years. Large colonies of 

 these birds inhabit the Temple Gardens, the Law 

 Courts, St. Paul's, the Museum, and Westminster 

 Palace, and many smaller settlements exist all over 

 the metropolis. Now, a flock or cloud of parti- 

 coloured pigeons rushing up and wheeling about 

 the roofs or fronts of these imposing structures 

 forms a very pretty sight ; but the daw toying 

 with the wind, that lifts and blows him hither 

 and thither, is a much more engaging spectacle, 

 and in London we miss him greatly. 



I have often thought that it was due to the 

 presence of the daw that I was ever able to get 

 an adequate or satisfactory idea of the beauty 

 and grandeur of some of our finest buildings. 

 Watching the bird in his aerial evolutions, now 

 suspended motionless, or rising and falling, then 

 •with half-closed wings precipitating himself 

 downwards, as if demented, through vast 



