240 RooJcs infested ivith Vermin. 



observed, old birds will linger with young ones at a 

 little distance, and may then be mistaken — as also 

 on the following da}^, w^hen sportsmen go round to 

 pick up the outsiders, and frequently' come on old 

 and young together. The old bird will not sit and 

 let you aim at him perching; if 3'ou shoot him, it 

 must be on the wing. The young bird will sit and 

 let you pick him off with a crossbow, and even if a 

 cartridge singes his wing he will sometimes only hop 

 a yard or two along the boughs. 



Though hard hit and shattered with shot, they 

 will cling to the branches convulsivel}', seeming to 

 hang b}^ the crook of the claw or by muscular con- 

 traction even when perfectl}' dead, till lifted up by a 

 shot fired directly underneath, or till the bough itself 

 is skilfuU}^ cut off by a cartridge and both come down 

 together. The 3'oung feathers being soft, and the 

 quills not so hard as in older birds, scarcely a rook- 

 shooting ever goes by without some one claiming to 

 have made a tremendous long shot, which is quite 

 possible, as it does not require many pellets or much 

 forc»e behind them. 



On dropping a rook, probabl}' at some distance 

 from the rookery, where the men are whose duty it 

 is to collect the slain, beware of carrying the bird ; 

 let him he, or at most throw him upon a bramble 

 bush in a conspicuous spot till a boy comes round. 

 Rooks are perfectly infested with vermin, which in a 

 few minutes will pass up their legs on to 3'our hand, 

 and cause an unpleasant irritation, though it is only 

 temporary ; for the insects cannot exist long away 

 fi'om the bird. 



The young birds are occasionall}' stolen from 



