THE PIE KIND. 



515 



that looks upon a grove where they have 

 made a colony in the midst of the city. At 

 the commencement of spring, the rookery, 

 which during the continuance of winter seem- 

 ed to have been deserted, or only guarded 

 by about five or six, like old soldiers in a 

 garrison, now begins to be once more fre- 

 quented ; and in a short time all the bustle 

 and hurry of business is fairly commenced. 

 Where these numbers resided during the 

 winter is not easy to guess; perhaps in the 

 trees of hedge-rows, to be nearer their food. 

 In spring, however, they cultivate their native 

 trees; and, in the places where they were 

 themselves hatched, they prepare to propa- 

 gate a future progeny. 



They keep together in pairs; and when 

 the offices of courtship are over, they prepare 

 for making their nests and laying. The old 

 inhabitants of the place are all already pro- 

 vided ; the nest which served them for years 

 before, with a little trimming and dressing, 

 will serve very well again; the difficulty of 

 nestling lies only upon the young ones, who 

 have no nest, and must therefore get up one 

 as well as they can. But not only the mate- 

 rials are wanting, but also the place in which 

 to fix it. Every part of a tree will not do for 

 this purpose, as some branches may not be 

 sufficiently forked ; others may not be suffi- 

 ciently strong; and still others may be too 

 much exposed to the rockings of the wind. 

 The male and female upon this occasion are. 

 for some days, seen examining all the trees of 

 the grove very attentively ; and when they 

 have fixed upon a branch that seems fit for 

 their purpose, they continue to sit upon and 

 observe it very sedulously for two or three 

 days longer. The place being thus deter- 

 mined upon, they begin to gather the mate- 

 rials for their nest; such as sticks and fibrous 

 roots, which they regularly dispose in the 

 most substantial manner. But here a new 

 and unexpected obstacle arises. It often hap- 

 pens that the young couple have made choice 

 of a place too near the mansion of an older 

 pair, who do not choose to be incommoded 

 by such troublesome neighbours. A quarrel 

 therefore instantly ensues, in which the old 

 ones are always victorious. 



The young couple, thus expelled, are 

 obliged again to go through the fatigues of 



KO 43 & 44. 



deliberating, examining, and choosing; and 

 having taken care to keep their due distance, 

 the nest begins again, and their industry de- 

 serves commendation. But their alacrity is 

 often too great in the beginning; they soon 

 grow weary of bringing the materials of their 

 nest from distant places; and they very ea- 

 sily perceive that sticks may be provided 

 nearer home, with less honesty, indeed, but 

 some degree of address. Away they go, 

 therefore, to pilfer, as fast as they can ; and 

 wherever they see a nest unguarded, they 

 take care to rob it of the very choicest sticks 

 of which it is composed. But these thefts 

 never go unpunished ; and probably upon 

 complaint being made there is a general 

 punishment inflicted. I have seen eight or 

 ten rooks come upon such occasions, and, 

 setting upon the new nest of the young cou- 

 ple all at once, tear it in pieces in a mo- 

 ment. 



At length, therefore, the young pair find 

 the necessity of going more regularly and ho- 

 nestly to work. While one flies to fetch the 

 materials, the other sits upon the tree to 

 guard it ; and thus in the space of three or 

 four days, with a skirmish now and then be- 

 tween, the pair have fitted up a commodious 

 nest, composed of sticks without, and of 

 fibrous roots and long grass within. From 

 the instant the female begins to lay, all hos- 

 tilities are at an end ; not one of the whole 

 grove, that a little before treated her so rude- 

 ly, will now venture to molest her; so that 

 she brings forth her brood with patient tran- 

 quillity. Such is the severity with which 

 even native rooks are treated by each other; 

 but if a foreign rook should attempt to make 

 himself a denizen of their society, he would 

 meet with no favour; the whole grove would 

 at once be up in arms against him, and ex- 

 pel him without mercy. 



In some countries these birds are consider- 

 ed as a benefit, in others as a nuisance : their 

 chief food is the worm of the dor-beetle, and 

 corn ; thus they may be said to do as much 

 service by destroying that noxious insect, as 

 they do injury by consuming the produce of 

 the husbandman's industry. 



To this tribe of the crow-kind, some fo- 

 reign sorts might be added : I will take no- 

 tice only of one, which, from the extraordi- 



4F 



