PERCHING BIRDS. 115 



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raven ; living, like it, in pairs, and feeding on car- 

 rion, as well as on young fowls, rabbits and worms. 



The rook, on the contrary, is a sociable bird ; 

 living in company with its fellows, and preferring 

 a vegetable diet ; or such grubs and insects as it 

 finds in the fields. There are other points of dif- 

 ference in the beaks of these birds. That of the 

 rook is distinguished by the naked and scurfy 

 white skin at its base ; a peculiarity which natur- 

 alists are at a loss to account for. The plumage 

 of the common crow differs, too, in colour from 

 that of the rook, being of a greenish-blue ; while 

 the rook's is more inclined to a rich purple. 



Nor are these birds disposed to associate; on 

 the contrary, the crows are regarded by the rooks 

 as enemies, and the intrusion of a couple of car- 

 rion crows will suffice to drive them from their 

 tenements. This was shown in a remarkable 

 instance which occurred about two years ago, at 

 Hatton Hall, in the neighbourhood of which a 

 large colony of rooks had been established for 

 some years. As usual, in the month of March, 

 the rooks came, and began repairing their nests ; 

 stealing materials from those of their neighbours 

 unless most sharply watched by their respective 

 owners. When, all on a sudden, proceedings 

 came to a stop, after some three or four nests 

 were nearly completed, and several others begun. 



