10 Beal, Food of European Birds. I Jan. 



were evenly distributed through the twelve months of the year^ 

 but were all killed in a restricted area. Mr. Gilmour thinks, 

 however, that the results obtained would not differ greatly if they 

 had been collected over a larger district, as the one in question 

 may be considered as fairly typical of southern Scotland. 



The food found in the 336 stomachs was classified under four 

 heads, viz: (i) insects and grubs, (2) roots, (3) cereal grains and 

 husks, (4) miscellaneous. Of these the third is of the greatest 

 importance, both from its economic interest and from the fact that 

 it is the food most often taken. Mr. Gilmour reckons his per- 

 centages from the number of times that the bird has taken the 

 food, and from this concludes that grain and husks constitute 58 

 per cent of the Rook's food. Insects and grubs, reckoned in the 

 same way, amount to 23 per cent. It can hardly be claimed that 

 this is the most accurate method of calculating the relative 

 amounts of food found in a bird's stomach. Birds are fond of 

 eating a great many different things, the aggregate quantity of 

 which may be small, just as human beings eat a little butter and 

 sugar at nearly every meal, but never make a whole dinner of 

 either. To illustrate, in an examination of 2258 stomachs of the 

 Crow Blackbird corn amounted to 35 per cent of the food by bulk, 

 but when reckoned by the number of times taken it aggregated 

 52 per cent. 



Insects and grubs are mostly eaten by the Rook from May to 

 August inclusive, but only in June and July do they amount to 

 more than any other item. As most of the insects are said to be 

 useful species, Mr. Gilmour is of the opinion that the harm done 

 by their destruction "can scarcely be considered as counter- 

 balanced by the grub consumpt." On the whole, his verdict is 

 against the Rook, for he says : " Taken altogether, the Rook has 

 almost no claim to agricultural regard. ... Is not the broad fact 

 clear that grain is the staple of staple foods for Rooks ? Lusting 

 for it as these birds do, we may rest assured that the Rook will 

 attack and prey freely upon the farmer's grain whenever and 

 wherever favourable opportunity is presented ; whether soft or 

 hard, whether sprouted or unsprouted, whether ripe or unripe, 

 whether in dung or on stubble-field, is of little moment to the 

 Rook." While he acknowledges that much of this grain was taken 



