312 BIBDS IN LONDON 



pairing with the new-comer the two went away 

 to spend the honeymoon and look for a suitable 

 residence in the countrJ^ The ragged daw lived 

 on with the rooks for a few weeks longer, then 

 she too disappeared, being now able to fly. Three 

 or four weeks later, to everybody's astonishment, 

 they all came back together accompanied by 

 a fourth bird, a male, with which the ragged one 

 had paired. Somewhere roaming about outside of 

 London they had all met, and the ragged female 

 had probably persuaded them to forget past 

 unpleasantnesses and return to the park ; at all 

 events they all seemed very friendly and happy. 

 During the summer of 1897 both pairs bred, 

 one in the upper part of the tall spire of St. 

 Mary's Church, Stoke JSFewington, which stands 

 close to the main entrance to the park ; the other 

 in a building close by. 



We see from this that wandering and ap- 

 parently homeless daws often visit London, and 

 are quickly attracted by any tame unconfined 

 bird of their own species ; and that where daws 

 are wanted, an excellent plan is to use a tame 

 bird as a decoy. 



It is exceedingly improbable that any of 

 the raptorial species which formerly inhabited 



