﻿BIRDS. 
  

  

  in 
  the 
  north-east 
  of 
  our 
  area 
  ' 
  {Zoologist), 
  but 
  in 
  Gordon's 
  Fauna 
  of 
  

   Moray 
  as 
  abundant 
  at 
  that 
  date 
  ; 
  and 
  Brown 
  of 
  Forres 
  tells 
  us 
  it 
  

   has 
  bred 
  in 
  the 
  chimneys 
  in 
  Forres 
  as 
  long 
  as 
  he 
  can 
  remember. 
  

   They 
  swarm 
  on 
  the 
  slopes 
  of 
  the 
  lower 
  Findhorn. 
  1 
  

  

  In 
  1885 
  we 
  observed 
  Jackdaws 
  passing 
  north 
  past 
  Dalwhinnie 
  

   singly 
  or 
  in 
  small 
  companies 
  along 
  with 
  rooks 
  — 
  June 
  and 
  July 
  — 
  

   and 
  once 
  in 
  a 
  flock 
  of 
  from 
  twelve 
  to 
  fifteen. 
  

  

  As 
  we 
  are 
  informed 
  by 
  Hinxman, 
  Jackdaws 
  came 
  up 
  to 
  Inch- 
  

   rory 
  from 
  the 
  rookery 
  at 
  Tomintoul 
  in 
  June 
  1893, 
  to 
  work 
  the 
  

   grassy 
  limestone 
  slopes 
  for 
  the 
  larvae 
  of 
  Tipula. 
  

  

  Many 
  good 
  naturalists 
  question 
  the 
  oophilous 
  tendencies 
  of 
  

   Jackdaws, 
  and 
  are 
  inclined 
  to 
  defend, 
  and 
  even 
  preserve 
  them. 
  

   Personally, 
  we 
  would 
  as 
  soon 
  think 
  of 
  preserving 
  Hooded 
  Crows. 
  

   True, 
  their 
  food 
  consists 
  chiefly 
  of 
  insects 
  and 
  their 
  larvae, 
  worms, 
  

   and 
  parasites 
  found 
  on 
  sheep, 
  etc. 
  etc. 
  ; 
  but, 
  as 
  their 
  attacks 
  upon 
  

   the 
  eggs 
  and 
  young 
  of 
  other 
  birds 
  frequently 
  prove 
  (Yarrell, 
  

   4th 
  ed., 
  vol. 
  ii. 
  p. 
  309), 
  they 
  cannot 
  be 
  trusted. 
  Undoubtedly 
  it 
  

   is 
  as 
  omnivorous 
  as 
  any 
  of 
  the 
  tribe, 
  and 
  therefore 
  very 
  fit 
  to 
  

   take 
  care 
  of 
  itself 
  in 
  the 
  struggle 
  for 
  existence. 
  From 
  the 
  fact 
  that 
  

   Jackdaws 
  in 
  confinement 
  prefer, 
  or 
  seem 
  to 
  prefer, 
  meat, 
  may 
  it 
  

   not 
  be 
  inferred 
  from 
  their 
  increasing 
  numbers, 
  and 
  our 
  knowledge 
  

   that 
  they 
  are 
  omnivorous, 
  that, 
  as 
  their 
  more 
  natural 
  food 
  becomes 
  

   scarce, 
  they 
  may 
  take 
  to 
  meat, 
  in 
  the 
  form 
  of 
  eggs, 
  young 
  birds, 
  

   etc., 
  until 
  such 
  food 
  becomes 
  a 
  second 
  nature 
  1 
  In 
  excessively 
  dry 
  

   springs, 
  such 
  actually 
  does 
  take 
  place 
  amongst 
  Eooks 
  and 
  Jack- 
  

   daws, 
  and 
  Hooded 
  Crows 
  have 
  long 
  since 
  asserted 
  these 
  abominable 
  

   qualities. 
  

  

  We 
  do 
  not 
  join 
  in 
  the 
  cry 
  against 
  cosmopolitan 
  ' 
  Jack 
  ' 
  for 
  

   banishing 
  or 
  bullying 
  the 
  Chough, 
  because 
  ' 
  craws 
  dinna 
  pike 
  oot 
  

   craws' 
  een.' 
  Still, 
  in 
  force 
  of 
  numbers, 
  and 
  the 
  necessities 
  of 
  sur- 
  

   vival 
  of 
  an 
  omnivorous 
  species 
  over 
  one 
  which 
  is 
  less 
  so, 
  we 
  believe 
  

   the 
  natural 
  outcome 
  will 
  be 
  found 
  to 
  be 
  affected 
  by 
  the 
  differences 
  

   in 
  character 
  of 
  the 
  two 
  species. 
  And, 
  quite 
  apart 
  from 
  their 
  food- 
  

   questions, 
  their 
  pilfering 
  of 
  other 
  birds' 
  materials, 
  which 
  cannot 
  be 
  

   denied, 
  is 
  the 
  only 
  indication 
  of 
  character 
  in 
  the 
  Jackdaw 
  which 
  is 
  

   not 
  to 
  be 
  admired. 
  ' 
  Their 
  persistence 
  in 
  collecting 
  sticks 
  ' 
  could 
  

   only 
  be 
  exceeded 
  by 
  the 
  same 
  persistence 
  in 
  Mr. 
  Jogglebury 
  Crowdy 
  

   or 
  Eoualeyn 
  Gordon-Cumming. 
  

  

  1 
  See 
  descriptive 
  part, 
  Journals 
  of 
  Harvie-Brown, 
  1885, 
  p. 
  373. 
  

  

  