The Rook 

 THE ROOK 



Corvus frugilegus, Linnseus 



There is no more delightful sound in early spring than 

 the " caw " of the Eooks at their " rookeries," as their breeding 

 places are called. Year after year they return regularly to 

 the same clump of trees, on the tops of which they build a 

 fairly substantial nest of sticks, with an inner foundation of 

 mud which is in turn warmly lined with roots, straw, and 

 fine grass. The sites chosen for their homes are more 

 frequently than not near human habitations or on clumps 

 of trees near a highway, and exceptionally, they may choose 

 pollards or low bushes, but as a rule the nests are never 

 less than twenty feet from the ground. The eggs are bluish, 

 with olive brown spots and blotches resembling those of 

 the Carrion Crow, but smaller and more variable. 



The young leave the nest just before they can fly, and 

 may then be seen sitting on the topmost branches of the 

 trees as they sway in the wind. This is the time when 

 they are shot for rook- pies, and also under the impression 

 that if they are not thinned out the colony will be deserted. 

 For this belief we are not aware that any proof exists, but 

 curiously enough colonies left to themselves tend to diminish. 

 These birds are rather capricious and will occasionally, 

 even in the nesting season, desert the colony ; the presence 

 in the neighbourhood of a pair of Carrion Crows is some- 

 times the cause, but more often than not the reason is not 

 apparent. As soon as the young can fly, towards the middle 



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