SKYLARK. 105 
ROOK. 
CorvVUS FRUGILEGUS, Linnzeus. 
As might be expected, in a pastoral county like 
Cheshire, the Rook is an abundant resident, and its 
nesting-colonies are met with everywhere. [locks 
may be seen feeding in such diverse situations as the 
pastures and arable land of the Plain, the shores and 
sandbanks of the estuaries, and the grouse-moors of 
the East. In the cultivated districts the damage done 
to the crops is perhaps more than compensated for 
by the number of injurious insects and slugs which 
the birds destroy; but on the moors their egg-eating 
propensities cause them to be looked upon with 
disfavour. 
During autumn and winter Rooks and Lapwings feed 
together in amity, but in the breeding season Rooks 
quarter the fields in search of eggs, and a pair of 
clamorous Lapwings may frequently be seen chasing 
a marauder from the vicinity of their nest. 
The birds often exhibit a preference for a particular 
tree in a rookery. At Wythenshawe, Mr. J. J. Cash has 
counted forty nests in a single sycamore which comes 
into leaf earlier than the surrounding elms and beeches. 
FAMILY ALAUDID. 
SKYLARK. 
ALAUDA ARVENSIS, Linnzus. 
This familiar songster abounds throughout Cheshire, 
nesting at all altitudes, from the sandhills of the coast 
to the tops of the highest moors nearly two thousand 
