BEARING AND PROTECTION. 69 



rabbit up in his claws several yards, and then drop it on his 

 approach." 



Mr. Leno, a very extensive pheasant breeder, states the 

 case still more forcibly : — " My experience is, that rooks will 

 destroy pheasants' eggs whenever they happen to find them 

 out. In one week a rook came twice and settled down in my 

 pheasantry, and took an egg away each time : and where 

 rooks abound, if perchance a pheasant's or partridge^s nest is 

 left by the mowers, the rooks may be seen crowding around 

 the patch of grass left for shelter, and the eggs are finished 

 in quick time. It is useless to leave a nest exposed in the 

 neighbourhood of rooks, as they are sure to eat them." 



Mr. Harman, of Eiverstown, co. Sligo, writes : '^ I can 

 confirm the destruction of pheasants' eggs. A few years 

 ago, in a dry spring, with a north-east wind for many weeks, 

 when the rooks could not bore for their accustomed food, 

 about one hundred and fifty pheasants' eggs — i.e., the shells 

 — were found under the rookery near the house, having been 

 taken by the rooks to feed their young, other food failing 

 them. I have caught them when baiting traps with eggs for 

 magpies." 



Mr. J. E. Harting informs me that on one occasion, in the 

 month of April, about the 14th or 15th, he saw a rook in the 

 act of carrying off a pheasant's egg from a copse. The bird 

 was carrying the egg upon the point of the bill, and on being 

 fired at he dropped it. There was a large and irregularly 

 shaped hole towards the larger end. On the very ground 

 where this occurred, my informant had heard the keeper say 

 that he had on more than one occasion shot rooks in the act of 

 carrying off pheasants' eggs. 



The balance of the evidence for and against the rook in 

 respect of conduct regarding the eggs of pheasants, appears 

 to show that, when hard pressed for food, rooks will even 

 destroy not only eggs but also the young birds. A correspon- 

 dent writes as follows : — " On June 13 my keeper observed 

 about half a dozen rooks engaged amongst the coops of young 



