162 SPRING. 



their neighbours, provided that they can accomplish it. 

 The nests of those pairs that have been destroyed by 

 the casualties of the year, are very quickly pulled to 

 pieces in this way, as it does not appear that there is 

 any law of heritage, or rule of succession among the 

 black population of the trees. Some of them, too, are 

 said to remain at home, and pilfer the whole materials 

 of their nests ; and for the preventing of those depre- 

 dations, it is said that one rook of the pair remains to 

 guard the nest from theft, while the other goes abroad 

 for materials. It would be at least as rational a solu- 

 tion of the matter to suppose that the one which has 

 been out has got fatigued and wants rest ; and we have 

 often seen nests remaining undisturbed in the absence 

 of the owners, when all around was in a state of the 

 greatest activity. We do not, however, deny the pur- 

 loining ; for we have seen contentions on the wing for 

 a stick, and while it dropt from the contending parties, 

 one that had taken no part in the quarrel got hold of it 

 and bore it off in triumph ; but we have never been 

 able to settle the rationale of the matter to our own sa- 

 tisfaction, and therefore we dare not attempt to settle it 

 to that of the reader. It has farther been stated that 

 those pilfering rooks are often visited with rather a severe 

 retribution. That when a pair had notoriously formed 

 their nest of stolen goods, the others have waited till 

 it was completed, and the eggs in whole or in part 

 deposited, and then they have assembled, pulled the 

 nest to pieces, and cast it stick by stick to the ground, 

 in the course of which the eggs were of course de- 

 stroyed. We cannot say that we have seen any thing 

 that could enable us to connect the demolition with a 



