WILD LIFE IN A SOUTHERN COUNTY. 279 



themselves alone ; but that causes them no uneasi- 

 ness, as they have their well-known places of rendez- 

 vous, and have only to fly to certain fields to be sure 

 of meeting their friends, or at most to wait about 

 near the nesting-trees till the rest come. 



It must not, therefore, be supposed that every one 

 flying alone is a crow. Crows are scarce in compari- 

 son with rooks. In severe weather a rook will some- 

 tunes venture into the courtyard of the farmstead. 



Two rooks marked with white resided at the rookery 

 here for several years. One had sufficient white to 

 be distinguished at a distance ; the other seemed- to 

 have but one or two feathers, which were, however, 

 visible enough when near the bird. As they have not 

 been seen lately, they have probably been shot by 

 some one who thought it clever to destroy anything 

 out of the ordinary. Most large rookeries can either 

 show a rook with white feathers, or have well-authen- 

 ticated records of their former existence ; but though 

 not rare, people naturally like to preserve them when 

 they do occur, and it is extremely annoying to have 

 them wantonly killed. 



