28 THE KIRDS OF THE BRITISH ISLES. 



One of a pair generally mounts guard over new foundations, for 

 the Rook is an acquisitive and pilfering bird, ready to victimise 

 its neighbour. Earth and small sods are used to strengthen 

 the nests, and they are lined with hair, grass and other soft 

 material, but less wool is used than by other crows. The eggs, 

 three to six, vary in colour, but green predominates (Plate 12) ; 

 they are laid, as a rule, in March, and the young leave the 

 nests in April. Shrill, infantile cries advertise the presence of 

 the young ; these change to a gobble of satisfaction when the 

 parent unloads its distended pouch for their benefit. The 

 young are fed in the fields long after they have left the nest ; 

 they follow the old birds with querulous calls and shivering 

 wings. 



The black plumage of the adult Rook of either sex is glossed 

 with blue, purple, violet and green reflections, but is duller 

 before the moult in autumn. Down feathers clothe the chin in 

 winter, but are lost in spring. The chin is feathered and the 

 nostrils covered with bristles in the young, and the plumage is 

 browner ; during the first winter the bristles are gradually lost, 

 and by the following spring the greyish, warty denuded area is 

 complete. The habit of digging for food is not responsible for 

 this loss ; the bare patch is a specific character of the adult 

 bird. The legs and bill are black, the irides brown. Length, 

 about 19 ins. Wing, 1275 ins. Tarsus, 2*25 ins. 



Jackdaw. Corvus monedula Linn. 



The popularity of the pert and sprightly Jackdaw (Plate 11) 

 is evident from the prefix "Jack," which, though not exactly a 

 pet-name, is a diminutive given to several familiar animals. 

 Throughout the British Isles it is resident, though rare or 

 absent in north-west Scotland and many of the Scottish and 

 Irish islands. It ranges through west and central Europe 

 from whence we receive many winter visitors in autumn. At 



