Practical Game-Preserving, 380 



another, and to other denizens of the coverts, &c., is 

 frequently the first notice one receives of their presence. 

 It at the same time signals their departure as a rule, so 

 that you require to see the vermin before you hear them. 

 At nesting-time the parent bird clings closely to the nest, 

 and the magpie always, and the jay mostly, has a 

 well -protected line of flight. The point then is firstly 

 to discover the nests, and then subsequently to seek the 

 chance to shoot the owners. When following the flight 

 of either as they work through and perch on the trees or 

 shrub growth of the hedgerows, always remember that 

 directly they enter the foliage or boughs they strike 

 upwards, and that it is necessary to look for them above the 

 point at which they may have disappeared. Again, jays 

 which go over a hedgerow always take about 5oyds. flight 

 up or down the other side as soon as it conceals them, 

 and then get amongst the boughs again out of gunshot. 

 Directly a magpie or a jay disappears in this fashion, run 

 to where you think it will be ; this plan offers the only 

 chance of a shot as a rule. 



Both magpies and jays are uncertain birds to take, and 

 were it not for the innate curiosity and inquisitiveness of 

 the former, it would be still more difficult to capture. 

 Once, however, one secures the measure of these birds 

 and their peculiarities of working, it becomes less diffi- 

 cult to take them. The secret of success, however, in 

 this direction is to know not so much what they have done 

 as what they will be doing next. They certainly are two 

 of the wariest winged vermin the gamekeeper has to deal 

 with, and unless he be up to all their moves they are sure 

 to have the best of the bargain. 



The small Dorset vermin-traps, 3in., with brass catches 

 and fine treadles, are probably the most usual traps to be 

 employed, and can be made very serviceable, but wherever 



