ROOKS. 219 



observe the perseverance of the old ones in the endea- 

 vour to relieve their perishing families ; for many of 

 them remained out, searching for food, long after their 

 accustomed roosting-time ; and then, adds this interest- 

 ing writer, "the Rook became a plunderer," and dreadful 

 havoc took place in the potato-fields, where whole lines 

 were afterwards seen broken up, in consequence of the 

 visits of the suffering Rooks. 



We have before noticed the instinctive sagacity shown 

 by Rooks, Jays, &c., in avoiding the approach of sports- 

 men, or other suspicious characters ; and it would appear 

 that they can with equal discrimination discover and 

 attach themselves to friends. A clergyman, who had a 

 small rookery near his house, assured us, that when he 

 walked near or under the trees, they exhibited no signs 

 of alarm ; but, when a stranger approached, they were 

 evidently uneasy, and manifested, by their loud cawings 

 and movements, their wish for his departure. The fol- 

 lowing anecdote is a still more convincing proof of this 

 instinctive faculty. 



A farmer rented a farm in the county of Essex some 

 years ago, where he had not resided long, before a num- 

 ber of Rooks came and built their nests upon the trees 

 immediately surrounding the premises, and multiplied so 

 much, in the course of three or four years, as to form a 

 considerable rookery, which he much prized. About this 

 time, however, he was induced to take a larger farm, 

 which obliged him to change his residence and forsake 

 his Rooks ; but, to his great surprise and pleasure, the 

 whole rookery manifested such an attachment towards 

 him, as led them to desert their former habitation, and 

 accompany him to his new abode, which was about three- 

 quarters of a mile off, and there they have continued to 

 nourish ever since. It should be added, that this person 

 was strongly attached to all animals whatsoever, and 

 that he always experiences a striking return of affection 

 even from the least docile of them. 



Could we dive into all the mysteries of a rookery, a 



