COBVID.E. 



331 



some of them as large as good- sized peas : as this 

 bird was not able to fly the old birds must have 

 brought it the stones as well as the rest of the food, 

 knowing that these were necessary to assist the 

 gizzard in the process of digestion. 



The Rook, like many of the Corvida?, is a very 

 early breeder, and may be seen in February, and 

 even as early as the end of January if the weather 

 be mild, beginning to repair its old nests : at this 

 time there is always a good deal of excitement in the 

 rookery and much fighting. It is a very amusing 

 sight at the pairing time to watch the Books court- 

 ing, the male at that time feeding the female and 

 playing round her in a most grotesque manner, and 

 even making an attempt at singing. Occasionally 

 second broods are produced as late in the year as 

 November; several instances of this are given by 

 Yarrell, and one in the * Zoologist' for 1864. 



The nest is usually placed in a high tree, and 

 many are congregated in the branches of the same 

 or closely adjoining trees : the nest is made of twigs 

 and lined with a little grass and roots. 



Many people are much in the habit of judging the 

 probable state of the weather from the flight of 

 Books, especially predicting wet and stormy weather 

 from their soaring in the air and suddenly dropping 

 from a great height nearly to the ground, as if 

 shot. 



