36 THE BIRDS OF BRECONSHIRE. 
and the owner informed me _ that, 
although he had lived there many years, 
he had never seen the Rooks build in 
that tree. Sometimes, indeed, a pair of 
young ones would begin to build a nest 
there, but it was instantly torn to pieces 
by the older birds, with every symptom 
of disapprobation. Why they should 
avoid this particular tree, which was 
quite sound, he could not say, but their 
continued and determined rejection of it 
showed a unity of counsel and fixity of 
purpose which to me was inexplicable. 
Only once during my _ residence here 
have I seen a pied or parti-coloured 
Rook, and that was a bird with whitish 
wings. Mr Crawshay, however, killed 
two Rooks with white on their wings, in 
the Rock Wood close to his house at 
Llansaintfraed. 
CHOUGH, Pyrrhocorax graculus. 
Although it occurs sparingly amongst 
the rocky cliffs of the Glamorganshire 
coast, I am unable to include it amongst 
the birds of this county. 
JACKDAW, Corvus monedula. 
Very common indeed, particularly 
