2i6 Wild Life in a Southern County 



the branches decay and fall of their own weight or before 

 the wind. 



No doubt if any one had carefully examined the tree 

 he would have observed signs of decay long before the 

 rooks abandoned it ; but those who pass the same trees 

 day after day for years do not observe minute changes, or, 

 if they do, as nature is slow in her movements, get so 

 accustomed to the sight of the fungi about the base, and 

 the opening in the bark where the decomposing touchwood 

 shows, as to think that it will always be so. At last the 

 rooks desert it, and then the truth is apparent. 



Their nests, being heavy, are not safe on branches 

 up which the strengthening sap no longer rises ; and in 

 addition to the nest there is the weight of the sitting-bird, 

 and often that of the other who perches temporarily on the 

 edge. As the branches die they become stiff, and will not 

 bend to the gale ; this immobility is also dangerous to the 

 nest. So long as the bough yields and sways gently 

 not much, but still a little the strong winds do no injury. 

 When the bough becomes rigid, the broad side or wall of 

 the nest offers an unyielding surface, which is accordingly 

 blown away. 



The nests which contain young are easily distinguished, 

 despite the height, by the almost continuous cry for food. 

 The labour of feeding the voracious creatures must be 

 immense, and necessity may partly account for the greater 

 boldness of the old birds at that season. By counting the 

 nests from which the cry proceeds the condition of the 

 rookery is ascertained, and the amount of sport it will 

 afford reckoned with some certainty. By noting the nests 

 from which the cry arose last, it is known which trees to 

 avoid in the rook-shooting ; for the young do not all come 

 to maturity at the same time, and there are generally a 



