Jackdaws are mostly seen flying about in flocks, but in September they gather together even more, and the flocks can become quite large. These are especially noticeable when they perform their aerobatics. These small black members of the crow family swirl about vigorously together in the sky, many of them crisscrossing as they perform their individual manoeuvres, while every so every often a mob of them comes diving down together with a roar of clack-clacking cries. There is no evident purpose to these games; they just seem to enjoy playing them.

ILLUSTRATION BY PETER BROWN

A surprising feature of these very mobile assemblies is that the jackdaw pairs stay close together in them. When they all land on a church roof and spire, or in a field, you notice