THE ROOK AND JACKDAW 37 



Once settled on their perches, the rooks may sometimes be heard 

 lulling themselves to sleep with an evensong quite as unique as that 

 of the raven. And it may be taken for granted that the daw, when 

 present, makes a notable contribution of his own to the general effect 

 it produces, for if his range of utterance is not so wide as that of 

 the rook, his " yacks ! " and " kaes ! " are penetrating. This singular 

 outpouring of the corvine soul has been thus described by Mr. 

 Edmund Selous, who has listened to it hidden in the roost itself. 

 " Groans, moans, shrieks almost, yells among the larches, all mingled 

 and blending but sinking now. A marvellous medley, a wonderful 

 hoarse harmony ! Here are shoutings of triumph, chatterings of joy, 

 deep trills of contentment, hoarse yells of derision, deep guttural 

 indignations, moaiiings, groanings, tauntings, remonstrances, clicks, 

 squeaks, sobs, cachinnations, and the whole a most musical murmur. 

 Loud, but a murmur, a wild, noisy, clamorous murmur ; but sinking 

 now, softening a lullaby. 



' I never heard 

 So musical a discord, such sweet thunder." " * 



It must not be supposed that the shooting and whirling flights 

 above described are peculiar to the roosting hour. Rooks and daws 

 may be seen at any time of the day indulging in various aerial 

 displays, both above their nesting trees and their feeding grounds. 

 Only a few hours before writing these lines, I watched rooks shooting 

 down into a ploughed field, with sudden turns and zig-zags that had 

 all the appearance of a series of upsets and spasmodic recoveries. 

 There was certainly in this particular display nothing either graceful 

 or impressive. Far different was the performance of the well-known 

 daws in Kensington Garden, who were seen, one fine winter's morn- 

 ing, by Mr. W. H. Hudson, " rushing over and among the tall elms 

 in a black train, yelping like a pack of aerial hounds in hot pursuit 



1 Bird Watching, chap, xi,, which has supplied most of the matter for what is here said 

 about the roosting habits of the rook. 



