932 BIRDS OF SOMERSETSHIRE. 
‘‘ Behold the Rooks how odd their flight, 
They imitate the gliding kite, 
And seem precipitate to fall, 
As if they felt the piercing ball.” 
The Rook is almost too well-known to need any 
description: the irides are dark brown; the whole 
of the plumage is glossy, shining black, reflecting 
purple and blue; itis much more glossy than that 
of the Crow. The space round the beak nearly to 
the eyes is a rough whitish skin without feathers; 
this at a distance is one of the most easily seen 
distinctions between the Rook and the Crow. In 
young birds of the year this rough white skin round 
the beak does not appear, that part being covered 
with feathers, which are not replaced after the first 
moult. There is a very common theory, with which 
I do not myself agree, that the feathers are worn off 
by the bird rubbing them when boring in the ground 
for grubs and insects: if this were really the case 
the feathers would be replaced after each moult, 
and consequently for a short period at that time of 
year all Rooks would have this part feathered; but 
this is not the case. 
Varieties of the Rook not unfrequently occur; the 
most general are pied black and white, white and 
cream-colour. I have one specimen of the pied 
variety in my collection, a young bird of the year: a 
part of the beak of this bird is white also. 
The egg is much like that of the Crow, but rather 
