CHOUGH. 
3 
,, f n „ ma ii party of Grey Crows, who frequented the shore, were busily engaged 
a lower elevation two or three o < V , c kept watch on all sides from the stone dyke that 
wit* some » large flock of Boots wore scattered 
separated the pasture ahoi c 1 n< i dit i 0 iT to these a couple of Magpies had occupied themselves for a 
^ - 4e of a £ of water , tte nearest boflow 
"r m Twanderings in that district, while attempting to pick up a knowledge of the habits of this 
• T ° d ; the acquaintance of an antiquated native of a small village in the neighbourhood of the coast, 
who'well remembered the time when these birds had been plentiful along the cliffs in most parts of the county. 
The poor old fellow evidently looked back with regret on the days when he had been enabled to shoot them m 
such numbers that a Daw-pie was by no means an uncommon addition to Ins usual humble fare ; but he 
remarked with a sigh, that he had not tasted one for the last sixteen years. As he occasionally made himself 
useful by’ the information concerning the locality he was able and willing to supply, and volunteered one day 
to drive up and signal the approach of a pair of Choughs, which were visible on a grassy slope at a short 
distance to the west, I asked him, when he had successfully performed his work, if he would not join us at 
lunch-time. It is needless to state that he was soon hard at work at an enormous hunch of bread and meat, 
and, what was far more to his liking, an unlimited supply of bottled Bass. As the beer disappeared, the old 
man gradually became more communicative as to his personal affairs, and eventually disclosed the fact that 
he was no stranger to the various hardships and adventures of a smuggler’s life. After dilating in a somewhat 
rambling fashion on several of what I suppose he considered the most stirring and exciting episodes of his 
chequered career, he concluded by remarking, with a quiet chuckle and evidently intense satisfaction, “ buried 
my ole ’oman last Friday.” 
