106 THK ROOK. 



ine cock birds begin to feed tne hens. These receive the bounty of 

 their mates with a fondling, tremulous voice, and fluttering wings, and 

 with all the little blandishments that are expressed by the young while 

 in a helpless state. This gallant deportment of the males is continueC 

 through the whole season of incubation. 



New-comers are often severely beaten by the old inhabitants, (who 

 are not fond of intrusions from other societies,) and are even frequently 

 driven quite away. Of this an instance occurred near Newcastle, ir i 

 the year 1783. A pair of Rooks, after an unsuccessful attempt to es- 

 tablish themselves in a rookery at no great distance from the Exchange, 

 were compelled to abandon the attempt, and take refuge on the spire 

 of that building ; and, though constantly interrupted by other Rooks, 

 they built their nest on the top of the vane^ and reared their young-ones 

 undisturbed by the noise of the populace below them : — the nest and 

 its inhabitants were of course turned about by every change of the 

 wind. They returned and built their nest every year on the same placo, 

 till the year 1793, soon after which the spire was taken down. A 

 small copper-plate was engraved, of the size of a watch-paper, with a 

 representation of the top of the spire and the nest; and so much 

 pleased were the inhabitants and other persons with it, that as many 

 copies were sold as produced to the engraver the sum of ten pounds. 



A remarkable circumstance respecting these birds occurred a fevr 

 years ago at Dallam Tower, in Westmoreland, the seat of Daniel Wil- 

 son Esq. There were two groves adjoining to the park, one of which 

 had, for many years, been the resort of a number of Herons, that regu 

 larly every year built and bred there. In the other was a large rook 

 ery. For a long time the two tribes lived peaceably together. At 

 length, the trees of the heronry were cut down, and the young brood 

 perished by the fall of the timber. The parent birds, not willing to be 

 driven from the place, endeavored to effect a settlement in the rookery. 

 The Rooks made an obstinate resistance; but, after a desperate contest, 

 in the course of which many of the Rooks and some of the Herons lost 

 their lives, the latter at length succeeded in obtaining possession of 

 some of the trees, and that very spring built their nests afresh. The 

 next season a similar conflict took place ; which, like the former, was 

 terminated by the victory of the Herons. Since this time, peace seems 

 to have been agreed upon between them ; the Rooks have relinquished 

 part of the grove to the Herons, to which part alone they confine them- 

 selves; and the two communities appear to live together in as much 

 harmony as they did before the dispute. 



The following anecdote of this sagacious community is related by 

 Dr. Percival, in his Dissertations: "A large colony of Rooks had 

 subsisted many years in a grove on the banks of the river Irwell, neai 

 Manchester. One serene evening I placed myself within the view of 

 it, and marked with attention the various labors, pastimes, and evolu- 

 tions of this crowded society. The idle members amused themselves 

 •vrltQ chasing each other through endless mazes; and, in their flight, 

 they made the air sound with an infinitude of discordant noises. In 

 the midst of these playful exertions, it unfortunately happened that 

 ©lie Rook, by a suc^'^en turn, struck his beak against the wing of 



