CROWS AND ROOKS. 213 



is never without the bristly feathers that cover the base 

 and the nostrils, as is the case with the Rook, whose 

 beak, when of full growth, is easily distinguished by the 

 naked and scurfy white skin at its base and on the chin, 

 produced, as some naturalists assert, by the bristles being 

 rubbed off, owing to its constantly thrusting its bill deep 

 into the soil, in search of worms and insects. We feel, 

 however, much inclined to doubt this, and would rather 

 attribute this nakedness to the base of the bill, to an 

 original and natural peculiarity. It has been well ar- 

 gued, in favour of the former opinion, that a specimen 

 was killed whose beak was much longer than usual, and 

 the extremities of which were not only much curved, but 

 actually crossed, like a Crossbill's, and that the base of 

 the beak of this bird, from an impossibility of its being 

 thrust into the ground, was clothed with a full plumage 

 of bristles, and not bare like those of other Rooks. On 

 the other hand, it has been urged, that if these bristles 

 were worn down by being thrust into the ground, they 

 would be renewed, like other feathers, at the regular 

 moulting-time ; and, further, as all new feathers are full 

 of blood at the roots, any application tending to grind 

 them down would be so painful to the Rook, that it 

 would be very unwilling, if indeed able, to thrust its 

 beak into the ground ; and again, which we consider 

 as a still stronger argument, it may be asked, if the 

 Rook's bristles are destroyed by this process, how comes 

 it that the Jackdaw, Jay, and Magpie, and some other 

 birds, retain them, though as constantly thrusting 

 their beaks into the ground, in search of worms, as the 

 Rooks ? 



When viewed together, a further distinction will be 

 seen between the Rook and the common Crow, in the 

 glossy colours of their plumage ; that of the Rook being 

 more inclined to a rich purple, whereas that of the Crow 

 is of a greenish blue. There is one other supposed dis- 

 tinctive mark, which we shall mention, merely because 

 we believe it does not exist, namely, that the Rook has 



