246 WOODLAND CREATURES 



young birds, to acorns and berries. The 

 magpie especially is a terrible egg thief, for, 

 with his nimble wits and quick eye, he has no 

 trouble in locating the nests of pheasants, 

 partridges, and wild ducks, to say nothing of 

 those of smaller birds, and so takes a heavy toll, 

 Yet without any wish to underrate the magpie's 

 ability, I cannot consider it in the same class 

 as the rook in the matter of egg stealing Long 

 and bitter experience of the latter bird, having 

 lived for years in the neighbourhood of a very 

 large rookery, has convinced me that rooks, as 

 regards egg thieving, are worse pests than all 

 the magpies and jays put together ! The rooks 

 hunt the fences regularly and systematically 

 for nests, and this whether the weather be wet 

 or dry (the excuse that has been put forward, 

 that the rook only sucks eggs in dry times to 

 quench its thirst, is mere rubbish !) ; they come 

 round the orchards and farmyards, and are 

 far bolder than their woodland cousins. Still, 

 " two blacks do not make a white/' and it must 

 be admitted, as said before, that the magpie not 

 only has quite a taste for eggs, but has a keen 

 eye for the nests of small birds in hedgerows 

 and bushes, also for the hidden eggs of pheasants 

 and partridges lying in the fence bottoms or 

 concealed beneath fern and grass. With its 

 cunning eye and sprightly manner it soon locates 

 them, when it is but the work of a few minutes 

 for it to wreck them all. With its strong thick 

 bill it hammers a hole in the side of each egg, 



