22 IN NATURE'S WAYS 



At last the eggs are hatched the four, five, or six 

 large bluish- green eggs, blotched with brown and 

 purple. And then a new note is heard from the heights 

 of the clanging rookery a treble, callow cawing, 

 telling of hungry young rooks safely out of the shell. 

 Each parent must now work to hunt for worms and 

 grubs for the large-mouthed youngsters. 



When the first brood is fledged, the happy family party 

 leaves the old nest-tree, and the young rooks learn to 

 forage for themselves. In the evening the different 

 family parties return in a vast flock, with great cawing, 

 to fly several times round the nests, until, when all are 

 assembled, they settle down noisily for the night. 



Tfoc 



l~ - The people of Hampshire and Sussex call the 



missel-bird the storm-cock, because it sings early 

 in ths spring 1 , in blowing, showery weather. Its 

 song often commences with the year : with us it 

 builds much in orchards. 



The missel-thrush is, while breeding, fierce and pugnacious, 

 driving such birds as approach its nest, with great fury, to a 

 distance. 



The Welsh call it pen y Ilivyn, the head or master of the coppice. 



He suffers no magpie, jay, or blackbird to enter the garden where 

 he haunts, and is, for the time, a good guard to the new-sown 

 legumens [peas, etc.]. 



In general, he is very successful in the defence of his family ; but 

 once I observed in my garden that several magpies came determined 

 to storm the nest of a missel-thrush. The dams defended their 

 mansion with great vigour, and fought resolutely ; but numbers at 

 last prevailed : they [the magpies] tore the nest to pieces, and 

 swallowed the young alive. G. W. 



