50 THE ROOK 



the barns and granaries, or, if the opportunity offers, 

 they get at the bundles of straw which they pull about 

 to try and find a stray ear of corn. 



This much is certain that the principal food of the 

 Rook consists of insects and grubs, which it gets not 

 only from the surface of the earth, but also from beneath 

 it, when the bird sees from the colour of the fading 

 plant that a grub is gnawing at its root. This is the 

 meaning of the uprooted plants ; and why one flock after 

 another so often visits the same cornfields. It is a sure 

 sign that the wireworm or some similar pest is busy 

 with its depredations. Here again the work of the Rook 

 is a blessing. 



There are neighbourhoods where the farmer makes, a 

 great fuss about a grain or two of wheat or maize, as if 

 he must be ruined by the damage. I repeat that the bird 

 has earned its few grains by its other work ; indeed, 

 without its useful services these grains would probably 

 never have grown. 



The lesson we learn then is as follows : The Rook lives 

 principally and preferably on insects, grubs and worms, 

 and so long as these are procurable, it does not look for 

 grain therefore, the spring sowing should be performed 

 as late as possible, when the insects have developed, and 

 the Rook can find its natural food ; in autumn the sowing 

 should be done as early as possible while there are still 

 some insects to be found. The further actions of this 

 bird are protective, for it attacks the gnawing maggots 

 that live in the ground. These facts can be verified by 

 dissection of the bird, when the stomach is often found 

 to be full of wire-worms. 



None the less researches into the habits of the rook 



