The Bird Book 



at the base of the beak at once reveals the Rook's 

 identity. If another guide to recognition is re- 

 quired, it may be found in the fact that, while the 

 Rook is gregarious, the Crow is usually found 

 hunting in couples, for it probably pairs for life. 



It has already been stated that the bulk of the 

 Rook's food consists of grubs, yet he is practically 

 omnivorous. Nothing seems to come amiss, be it 

 grain, fruit or flesh. If the grubs fail owing to 

 frost or drought, he will prey upon young birds, 

 steal the eggs of those birds which nest in the 

 open, or play the part of scavenger on the seashore. 

 But what the Rook is by necessity, the Carrion 

 Crow is by profession, and consequently he is not 

 exactly regarded with favour by the gamekeeper, 

 if we may judge by the array of heads we so 

 frequently see nailed up as trophies. Considering 

 this treatment, it is not surprising that the Crow 

 is a somewhat uncommon bird, though in Hert- 

 fordshire and some parts of Middlesex it appears 

 in considerable numbers. Elsewhere it is on 

 the rocky coasts that I have met with it most 

 frequently, and there it nests after the manner of 

 a Raven, of which bird it is indeed a miniature. 



In the former districts the pair usually selected 

 some tall isolated tree, either in a field or hedge, 

 and built their nest high up in a fork of the main 

 stem, or occasionally at the extremity of some 

 branch, in such a position that the sitting bird 

 could command an extensive view of the surround- 



36 



