JACKDAW TRAGEDY
House-hunting is not only a problem for humans. Birds seem to have the same trouble, and some of them face it every spring. I have been watching a pair of jackdaws trying to take possession of a site that is the scene of a battle every year. The lawful tenants have been in possession for a long time, but the newcomers persist and the contest has gone on for much longer than I expected. It may be that a certain urgency now makes the new- comers particularly anxious to take over a ready-made nest. The days pass and still they make futile efforts to occupy the home of the resident birds. When driven off, they perch rather forlornly in trees just across the road. Sometimes the rightful owners of the nest seek them there. I see it as a tragedy. The hen without a nest has picked herself a mate with- out responsibility and this is the price of her folly. I can imagine the recriminations that will pass if he doesn't very soon face up to life. In the meantime the residents are getting steadily on with their business and eggs are being laid. It happens in the bird world as in our own.
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