THE BIRDS OF LONDON 181 



returns to the haunts of his youth. So it is that the 

 family breeding grounds are tenanted from genera- 

 tion to generation until it becomes impossible to hold 

 them any longer. Richard Jefferies once suggested 

 the planting of the Thames Embankment thickly 

 with trees in the hope of attracting the rooks to 

 build there ; but it is much to be doubted if this 

 plan would now be successful ; such feeding grounds 

 as are within reach in London are now very 

 restricted, and are much too frequented for the 

 rook's taste. 



The rook is however still occasionally to be seen 

 in London. He used to affect the grounds of 

 Lambeth Palace as much as anywhere, probably 

 because of the seclusion. He might sometimes be 

 seen there at work on the sward, or perched on a 

 sooty branch of one of the trees that have become 

 almost as black as his own plumage. In his visits 

 to town he may be seen at times accompanied by 

 his friend the jackdaw. It would be interesting 

 to know the grounds of the friendship which every- 

 where seems to prevail between the rooks and the 

 jackdaws. In the winter time in the country a 

 flight of rooks is usually seen thickly interspersed 

 with jackdaws. Starlings and other gregarious 

 birds often fly with rooks too and mingle with them 

 on the ground, but when they take to the wing the 

 former always keep together. The jackdaws how- 

 ever mingle with the rooks indiscriminately both 

 on the ground and on the wing and even in the 

 roosting places. White of Selborne suggested that 

 perhaps the jackdaws followed the rooks from 

 interested motives : " because rooks have a more 

 discerning scent than their attendants and can 



