96 BIRDS OF THE WAVE AND WOODLAND 



of insect life must be prodigious, for rooks are large birds, 

 and the voracity of the nestlings is enormous. But so long as 

 people will call them crows, and as the immemorial infamy of 

 that name clinofs to it, so lono- will the unfortunate birds be 

 persecuted. 



Yet in downright industry the farmer has few such friends, 

 or the insect-world such foes. Up in the morning, before 

 the dew is off the grass, before the lark is in the sky, the 

 rooks are hard at work, disposing of the "first worm " and 

 of the winged things of sunshine, which, clogged with 

 moisture, are unable to rise from the ground. As soon as the 

 men are afield, the rooks go to them, following them up and 

 down with unwearying diligence, and tracking the plough, 

 the harrow, and the spade, with the fierce unsparing scrutiny 

 of inquisitors. There is no appeal from them. They hold 

 their court upon the spot, and the summary procedure of 

 their penal code is the same for all malefactors alike. 



In another respect, this hard-living bird is deserving of 

 regard, for it prefers the vicinity of human dwellings, and 

 likes to live as near man as possible. Next to a heronry 

 the existence of a rookery is always considered to add a 

 charm to an estate, and not without reason, for, besides 

 investing the place with a fine air of undisturbed ancestral 

 repose, there is something very pleasant and soothing in the 

 clamour of rooks in the peopled elms. To those who care 

 to watch them, the burghers of these "airy cities" are a very 



