toll of scattered grain ; and in winter it frequents the potato-fields, and turnips 

 are often destroyed during frost by the holes which it bores in these roots 

 with its powerful bill. When the stubble fields are being ploughed up large 

 gatherings of Rooks are seen following the plough, and eagerly devouring the 

 worms and grubs as they are turned up. Like most of the Crows, Rooks 

 are almost omnivorous : carrion is greedily devoured by them ; they are fond 

 of acorns, and may be seen pulling them from the oak-trees in autumn ; 

 beech-nuts and various berries are also taken at that season. 



In Scotland, where the cultivated parts of the country are not so extensive 

 as in England, the Rook is an inveterate egg-stealer, and I have known them 

 destroy the entire contents of a Mallard's nest in a few hours. In some 

 districts they may be seen regularly quartering the fields in search of 

 Lapwings' nests. 



Towards the end of February the Rooks begin to repair their nests, 

 remaining longer and longer at the rookery each day ; but until the eggs are 

 laid they do not roost there. The building of the nest takes some time ; one 

 of the birds usually remains at the nest while the other is away in search of 

 materials, as Rooks will steal from each other's nests, and seem to be very 

 quarrelsome during the building-season. By the first week in March they are 

 hard at work, and may be seen tugging and struggling with the twigs, breaking 

 off little pieces, which they carry to their nests, spending some time in arranging 

 them to their satisfaction. 



The foundation of the nest is composed of sticks of various sizes, from 

 slender twigs to heavy pieces of branches, fully three-quarters of an inch in 

 diameter, often thickly cemented together with clay and mud, and lined with 

 lumps of turf, plants torn up by the roots, moss, dry grass, leaves and feathers. 

 The cup which contains the eggs is rather deep, though the nest is often 

 outwardly rather flat. Some nests are enormous structures, being added to 

 year after year, till they become at length solid masses of sticks and turf, from 

 which the grass may often be seen sprouting luxuriantly. Many of the nests 

 in a rookery are built touching one another, and are usually situated among 

 the slender branches in the extreme top of some lofty tree. 



During the second week in April the feeble cries of the young Rooks 

 begin to be heard, and from early morning till sunset the old birds are taxed 

 to the utmost to provide them with food ; after a few weeks of this the young 

 birds appear on the branches round the nests, and fly unsteadily from branch 

 to branch, cawing lustily. 



The Rook lays from three to six eggs ; they differ very considerably in 



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