246 J. E. LITTLEBOT — NOTES OX BIRDS 



seventy-five young rooks were picked up dead, about the end of 

 May, at the "VViggenhall Rookery, and he suggests that their death 

 was caused by starvation, consequent on dry weather. It is possible 

 that this may be a correct explanation of the occurrence, but I 

 cannot find that similar mortality has prevailed at any of the other 

 rookeries in the neighbourhood, and it is difficult to understand 

 why drought should have been more destructive at Wiggenhall 

 than elsewhere, especially when the situation of "Wiggenhall, 

 close to the river, is remembered. Mr. H. George Fordham 

 reports that at Odsey Grange rooks commenced pairing about the 

 1st of February ; they commenced to build on March 4th, and 

 young birds were heard calling on the 10th of April. Rooks are 

 notoriously pugnacious. At Odsey Grange a rook was seen to 

 attack a small hawk when on the wing ; and the He v. J. A. Ewing 

 writes from Westmill Rectory, 24th November, 1880, as follows : 

 " Last Friday, as I was riding not far from home, I saw before mo 

 a white bird on the road, which on rising up proved to be a sea- 

 gull. It was immediately attacked by some rooks, whose number 

 must have increased to a hundi'ed at least as it and they passed out 

 of sight ; it was strange that with its power of flight it should not 

 have at once distanced them." 



Lord Ebury has been kind enough to send me the following 

 remarkable anecdote respecting rooks. I quote from his lordship's 

 letter of the 18th of November. "My coachman witnessed a 

 curious sight this afternoon. He was returning from Cassiobury on 

 horseback and passing across the Moor, when the railway servant 

 at the level crossing (Watford and Rickmansworth Railway) called 

 his attention to a quantity of rooks, which, he said, had been 

 ' mohling a fox ' for some half -hour or so. He went to the place 

 indicated, and found the unfortunate Reynard with these birds 

 cawing vociferously and fluttering round him. On the coachman 

 giving a loud halloa, his tormentors flew up and he made the best 

 of his way to Long Valley Wood, where it is to be hoped he made 

 his escape, but he was pursued by his antagonists till he disappeared 

 among the bushes. I suppose the tradition has been handed down 

 among the crows of one of their female ancestors, described by La 

 Fontaine, being persuaded by an artful fox to drop a nice piece of 

 cheese she held in her beak, upon the pretence of his desire to hear 

 her beautiful voice. This is the revenge." In a subsequent letter 

 Lord Ebuiy humorously writes as follows : " Since I last wi'ote it 

 has been suggested that Reynard was wide awake all the time, and 

 that he was merely cozening the birds in order to get one of them 

 into his clutches, or perhaps he was acting as chairman or patron of 

 one of their annual concerts. The railway man who watched this 

 strange fi-atemization tells me that the fox actually laid himself 

 down in order to pursuade his guests to give his friendship a trial." 

 It has been suggested that the fox was wounded, but I am assured 

 that such was not the case. The fact that he ran off to a wood 

 directly the rooks were disturbed seems to contradict this 

 hypothesis. 



