108 NATURALIST'S CABINET. 



A singular anecdote. 



nests afresh. The next season a similar conflict 

 took place; which, like the former, was termi- 

 nated by the victory of the herons. Since this 

 time, peace seems to have been agreed upon be- 

 tween them: the rooks have relinquished part 

 of the grove to the herons, to which part alone 

 they confine themselves: and the two commu- 

 nities appear to live together in as much har- 

 mony as before the dispute. 



Dr. Percival, in his Dissertations, relates an 

 interesting anecdote of this sagacious tribe: " A 

 large colony of rooks," says he, " had subsisted 

 many years in a grove on the banks of the river 

 Irwell, near Manchester. One serene evening, 

 I placed myself within view of it, and marked 

 with attention the various labours, pastimes, and 

 evolutions, of this crowded society. The idle 

 members amused themselves with chasing each 

 other through endless mazes; and in their flight, 

 they made the air resound with an infinitude of 

 discordant noises. In the midst of these playful 

 exertions, it unfortunately happened that one 

 rook, by a sudden turn, struck his beak against 

 the wing of another. The sufferer instantly fell 

 into the river. A general ciy of distress ensued. 

 The birds hovered, with every expression of anx- 

 iety,. over their distressed companion. Animated 

 by their sympathy, and, perhaps, by the language 

 of counsel known to themselves, he sprang into 

 the air, and, by one strong effort, reached the 

 point of a rock which projected into the water. 



