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THE BOOK. 



repeated a dozen times in a few minutes. Anxious to see if they were 

 scooped out, as I did not think it had time, I picked up 11 limpets ; none of 

 them were cleaned out — most only touched, which I considered great 

 destruction for little good ; but, being young, it had not been up to the job. 

 Other limpets I got were nearly all scooped out." 



But sometimes the biter is bit, for on February 29th, 1862, a 

 rook was found dead amongst the rocks, with its bill firmly 

 clinched in a partan's claw. I saw one fly up with a large piece 

 of fish roe ; it was chased by another so fiercely that it let 

 the roe drop. The other pounced down and fed, showing that 

 nothing comes amiss to parson rook. On September 5th and 

 11th, 1878, 1 saw flocks of them, along with jackdaws, pigeons, 

 and starlings, feeding together on stubble fields — especially 

 where the stooks had been — and several on the stooks. On 

 May 3rd, 1884, one was seen hopping on a field, nearly choked. 

 On being caught, a full-sized mouse was found almost swallowed, 

 the tail only sticking out. The mouse had been caught alive, 

 but was dead. On being pulled out, the rook flew away. They 

 sometimes fish like herons in shallow water for smolts. When 

 working at our boats in the upper harbour at ebb tide, one came 

 regularly and watched the shallow burn for the crabs, which it 

 caught and demolished piecemeal, paying no heed to us, being 

 as busy catching crabs as my son was in sorting his boats. On 

 May 20th, 1889, T saw one flying to the tops of the fishing 

 boats' masts and picking the grease off the ties. On 8th 

 December 1 888 1 watched two perched on a telegraph wire near 

 the Swilcan Burn. A stiff breeze was blowing, and to show 

 their perfection of feet they steadied themselves like tight-rope 

 dancers, but without poles. They flew to a laburnum tree close 

 by, pulled oft' the pods, flew back to the wire, set the pods under 

 their feet, and picked out the little black seeds. I watched this 

 closely. I went to the tree, saw the pods, went under the wire, 

 and got the empty ones. Now, here is convincing proof of their 

 all-eating propensity, as well as perfect structure, to be able to 

 perch on a slender wire as well as on a tree or a spire, and be 

 able to pick out a tiny seed upon it, as well as a grub or a 

 potato on the ground — showing that its big, rough-looking bill 

 and armour-plated legs and feet have been designed with the 

 greatest care. 



As I wish this unassuming history of our birds to bristle — 

 like the hedgehog — with many little facts from the unprinted 

 book of Nature direct, I may say, on coming up the Pends from 

 the harbour at dusk on April 24th, 1889 — a very violent N.E. 



