56 THE ROOK 



Still, I for one have no desire to see their numbers 

 decrease, so certain am I of their value; and I believe 

 this bird will become even more valuable as time 

 goes on. 



The Rook is somewhat smaller than the Hooded Crow ; 

 the beak more slender, rather straighter ; the base of it 

 in mature age bare, and covered with a kind of white 

 scurf. The entire bird is black with a steely-blue and 

 purple gloss. The feet black and thick, the claws 

 strong, the sole rough ; it walks better than the Hooded 

 Crow. The beak of the young bird is not bare, the 

 nostrils being covered with bristly feathers. The bare- 

 ness first appears when the bird begins to dig in the 

 ground for its food. 



The open nest tempts the Rook. 



