8o SEAFOWL SHOOTING SKETCHES. 



took to flight when quite close. It appeared to be anxious to 

 investigate where the noise came from. It afterwards proved to 

 be remarkably good eating. 



THE OWL. 



On the isth September, 1888, I was flighting for lapwings, 

 in company with two other persons. It was just 7 50 in the even- 

 ing, and was dark, when one of the party fired. Soon after, on 

 asking what he had shot, he produced an eared owl, which he had 

 shot in mistake for a lapwing. Whilst standing together another 

 of the party suddenly remarked, " That's a bird ! " when, catching 

 a glimpse of a wing, I threw up the gun " at a venture " and 

 fired. With but faint hopes of any tangible results, I proceeded 

 in the direction of the shot fa horizontal one), and 60 yards away 

 picked up a fine barn owl. These were the only shots fired that 

 evening. 



Singularly enough, the third person in the trio secured an owl 

 in a similar manner, at the same place, a few weeks subsequently. 

 Anyone who will examine an owl's plumage will see how well 

 adapted it is to the bird's nocturnal habits and silent flight. 



THE ROOK. 



Crow. A great many people have an idea that a young rook 

 eventually grows into an old crow, but, of course, this is a mis- 

 take, as a rook is always a rook, whether young or old. To dis- 

 tinguish the rook from the crow, some persons tell you that the 

 former bird has a white skin round the nostrils, whilst the latter 

 has a lot of bristly hairs. This is true enough, but as the 

 young rook has the bristly hairs, how are we to distinguish 

 between it and the crow ? 



The best plan, according to Mr. E. C. Booth, is to look inside 

 the mouth, that of the crow being flesh colour, and that of the 

 rook slate colour. I believe this is the case at all stages of the 

 respective birds' existence. The rook is a sociable bird, as is 

 proved by its congregating to build. It seems to be somewhat 

 singular that, notwithstanding the annual attack which takes 

 place on its young in most rookeries, that it should still frequent 

 the neighbourhood of human habitations. 



There is a good old tale of a young student who was in the 

 habit of dropping rooks with a crossbow from the window of his 

 chambers. A learned professor, whose quarters were close by, 

 frequently seeing the birds drop suddenly from the trees without 

 apparent cause, conceived the idea that they were subject to the 

 falling sickness, and actually wrote a treatise to that effect ! The 

 air-gun was also formerly used to kill rooks, but on account of 

 its complexity and liability to burst whilst pumping is now seldom 



