wider the Bill of the Book, 513 



fly away immediately with it to the nest. But food of this 

 scanty measure would not be enough for the larger kind of 

 insectivorous birds. The progeny would undoubtedly require 

 more at each feeding; and, add to this, supposing the bird 

 only carried one insect at each turn, too much time would be 

 lost in passing to and from the nest. To obviate this, as birds 

 of the pie tribe have no power, in health, to eject food which 

 has descended into the stomach (saving the indigestible rem- 

 nants of aliment, which are thrown up in the form of pellets), 

 they collect a considerable quantity of insects into their mouth, 

 and they confine them there, without letting them go down 

 the throat. 



By this process, a rook is enabled to pick up a sufficient 

 supply of food, some miles from the nest ; and when its mouth 

 will hold no more insects, the bird takes flight, and carries 

 them to its expecting brood. The carrion crow, the jay, the 

 magpie, and the jackdaw do the sam.e thing precisely. Now, 

 the gathered insects, being prevented from descending into 

 the stomach, and at the same time not being able to escape 

 at the bill, must necessarily form a lump under the lower 

 mandible, where the skin, in all birds, is admirably formed 

 for distention. This lump is what has given rise to the notion 

 amongst naturalists, that the rook is furnished with a pouch 

 at the root of the tongue. If this pouch be allowed in the 

 rook, then it must be admitted that all birds are furnished 

 with a pouch ; and it must also be admitted that our tars are 

 furnished with a pouch betwixt the mouth and the ear, because, 

 for convenience' sake, they stow away their quid in that quarter. 

 It may be easily accounted for, why ornithologists make no 

 mention of a pouch under the tongue of the jay, the jackdaw, 

 the magpie, and the carrion crow, while they describe, with 

 such plausibility a pouch at the root of the tongue of the 

 rook. The reason is this, the rook, in general, is the friend 

 of man, and, in the breeding season, he becomes so tame that 

 he may be approached within a few yards. This gives you a 

 fine opportunity of observing the lump under the bill, when 

 the skin in that part is distended with a supply of food. Indeed, 

 you can observe it at a considerable distance, either while the 

 bird is on the ground, or when it is flying across you, on 

 account of its white appearance, contrasted with the sable 

 plumage. On the other hand, the carrion crow, the magpie, 

 the jay, and even the jackdaw, are all birds of ruined cha- 

 racter. Their misfortunes make them shy ; and thus you are 

 prevented from having much intercourse with them. The 

 gardener and the henwife can never be brought to look upon 

 them with the least appearance of kind feeling; while the 

 Vol. V. — No. 28. L l 



