And Jackdaws A bird that is undoubtedly multiplying, not in
one but many parts of the country, is the jackdaw ; and he is very destructive, not of the farmer's crops, but of other birds. Its multiplication along the Western coast, where you sec the bird in flocks and in rookeries, has done more than any other maleficent agency to destroy the though, now very rare indeed, even in such favourite haunts as the Isle of Jura, the cliffs of Pembrokeshire or the Land's End. Pairs have been seen flying methodically up and down hedgerows in the Midlands and pouncing on the eggs of any bird that they flush; especially the partridge. What should we do in such events, especially in the sanctuaries ? Must we allow the gulls on the stones of Dungeness to destrdy the rare Kentish plover, leave the jackdaw to expel the choughs and minish the partridges, and encourage the sparrow to evict the martins, or the starlings to destroy the plantations ? It is unquestionable that the circumstances of civilization directly encourage certain species till they become a danger to the natural balance of nature. It is hard to avoid alto- gether the conclusion that the keeper must on occasion destroy or at least discourage.
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