DAWS IN THE WEST COUNTRY 69 



cathedral daws, on account of their numbers, 

 are the most important of the feathered inhabit- 

 ants of Wells. These city birds are famiUarly 

 called "Bishop's Jacks," to distinguish them 

 from the "Ebor Jacks," the daws that in large 

 numbers have their home and breeding-place in 

 the neighbouring cliffs, called the Ebor Rocks. 



The Ebor daws are but the first of a succes- 

 sion of colonies extending along the side of the 

 Cheddar valley. A curious belief exists among 

 the people of Wells and the district, that the 

 Ebor Jacks make better pets than the Bishop's 

 Jacks. If you want a young bird you have to 

 pay more for one from the rocks than from the 

 cathedral. I was assured that the chff bird 

 makes a livelier, more intelligent and amusing 

 pet than the other. A similar notion exists, 

 or existed, at Hastings, where there was a saying 

 among the fisher folks and other natives that " a 

 Grainger daa is worth a ha'penny more than 

 a castle daa." The Grainger rock, once a 

 favourite breeding -place of the daws at that 

 point, has long since fallen into the sea, and 

 the saying has perhaps died out. 



At Wells most of the cathedral birds — a 



