CORVID. Sol 
some of them as large as good-sized peas: as this 
bird was not able to fly the old birds must have 
‘brought it the stones as well as the rest of the food, 
knowing that these were necessary to assist the 
gizzard in the process of digestion. 
The Rook, like many of the Corvide, is a very 
early breeder, and may be seen in February, and 
even as early as the end of January if the weather 
be mild, beginning to repair its old nests: at this 
time there is always a good deal of excitement in the 
rookery and much fighting. It is a very amusing 
sight at the pairing time to watch the Rooks court- 
ing, the male at that time feeding the female and 
playing round her in a most grotesque manner, and 
even making an attempt at singing. Occasionally 
second broods are produced as late in the year as 
November; several instances of this are given by 
Yarrell, and one in the ‘ Zoologist’ for 1864. 
The nest is usually placed in a high tree, and 
many are congregated in the branches of the same 
or closely adjoining trees: the nest is made of twigs 
and lined with a little grass and roots. 
Many people are much in the habit of judging the 
probable state of the weather from the flight of 
Rooks, especially predicting wet and stormy weather 
from their soaring in the air and suddenly dropping 
from a great height nearly to the ground, as if 
shot. 
X2 
