544 Nidification of the RooL 



considered a great dainty by the wealthy Swedes, and on this 

 account the number of these birds is very much reduced. 

 Many woodcocks are lost on their passage from one country 

 to another. Mr. Travers of Cornwall observed, when at 

 a great distance from land, where the feathered tribes are 

 seldom met with, a bird hovering over the ship. When first 

 discovered, it was high in the air ; but gradually descended, at 

 length alighted on the deck, and suffered itself to be taken 

 up by the hand: it proved to be a woodcock. In 1799, a 

 couple of woodcocks, in a gale of wind, alighted upon the deck 

 of the Glory man-of-war, as she was cruising in the Channel. 

 (The Sportsman. Doncaster, Sfc, Gazette, April 17. 1835.) 



Periodical Regularity with which Rooks commence Building. — 

 We have heard the remark made, that, were a naturalist to be 

 cast into a profound sleep, for a long and indefinite period, so 

 as to be totally unconscious of the lapse of time, whenever he 

 awoke, he would at once be able, on merely walking abroad and 

 viewing the natural objects around him, to state with accuracy, 

 not only the month of the year, but almost the very day of the 

 month, on which he roused from his slumber ; so regular and 

 constant, for the most part, are the operations of nature, and 

 the various occurrences of the seasons. The above remark 

 was forcibly brought to my mind this spring, on referring to 

 my calendar for the last few years, and observing the punctu- 

 ality evinced by the rooks in commencing the work of build- 

 ing their nests. By commencing the work of building, I would 

 be understood to mean, their actually collecting and carrying 

 sticks, &€., for that purpose : for it is well known, that, long 

 before a single stick or particle of other material is carried to 

 the rookery, the rooks themselves, with much ceremonious 

 clamour and cawing, are in the daily habit of paying regular 

 visits at stated hours to the trees they are about to occupy ; 

 on which occasions, we may presume, they hold council, select 

 their sites, and form their plans and calculations, as do other 

 builders. It is only from the year 1831, inclusive, that I have 

 particularly noted down the day of the month on which these 

 birds commence their operations; and, in these five years, I 

 find there is a variation of only three days. Twice they 

 began to build on the 9th of March, twice on the 10th, and 

 once on the 8th: viz. in 1831, on March 9.; in 1832, on 

 March 8.; in 1833, on March 9.; in 1834, on March 10.; in 

 1835, on March 10. It should seem, therefore, that, in the 

 case of the rooks at least, the business of nidification is only in 

 a very slight degree either hastened or retarded by the for- 

 wardness or backwardness of the season. The earliest date 

 above recorded occurs in the spring of 1832, which was a 



