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siderable distance. What the culprit had been about I 

 could only conjecture, but probably it had been caught, 

 or rather detected, in the act of robbing one of its neigh- 

 bours, but as Rooks are notoriously a thievish race, I was 

 not prepared for such a general and public display of 

 virtuous indignation, proving, however, the old adage 

 true, that there is even honour among thieves. 

 March 31 : In passing the rookery I observed the Rooks 

 were as quarrelsome as ever, frequent fights taking place, 

 even upon the nests, so that had they contained eggs 

 they must, I think, have been either broken or thrown 

 out. I noticed several Rooks, evidently paired, on the 

 branches close to and immediately over the nests— a 

 proof that they could not have contained their full com- 

 plement of eggs, or one of the birds would have been 

 sitting upon them. Rooks are exceedingly clumsy birds, 

 for they even roll about in walking, and their oscillation 

 on first alighting on the branches is very remarkable, and 

 in flying into the trees they often miss the branch on 

 which they had endeavoured to perch, thereby dropping 

 several feet lower into the tree than they had intended ; 

 and even when seated they are a few seconds balancing 

 themselves to and fro, with wings extended and their 

 heads depressed. This awkwardness may, I think, partly 

 arise from the great size and weight of the head and bill, 

 as well as from the shortness and rigidity of the claws, 

 which certainly appear better adapted for walking than 

 for grasping the branches of trees." — H. W. Hadfield, 

 Tonbridge {Zoologist, 1856, p. 5682). 



