120 BRITISH BIRDS. 



House-Martin's nest, or will line a hole in a thatch with 

 feathers. Partridges roost on the ground, while 

 Pheasants and fowls prefer to roost in trees. 



A Hedge-Sparrow which I had under observation, 

 returned every evening last winter with the utmost 

 regularity to a cranny among dead ivy on an elm. When 

 driven out it would return in a few moments, first pitching 

 on a branch of the tree, and then swiftly sneaking into 

 the cranny, so that its return very frequently escaped 

 my notice entirely. 



Kestrels roost at the same spot, in a quarry for ex- 

 ample, for many consecutive weeks. 



The Pied Wagtail and the Grey Wagtail in the Barn- 

 staple district collect in some numbers every evening, 

 and roost in reed beds, like the Starlings. They drop 

 in from all directions, but do not come from more than 

 a mile distant. As a rule they collect on the ground, 

 or telegraph wires, near the reed bed, before disappearing 

 into the reeds, calling, and flying short distances in one 

 flock. This flock increases as the birds come up one 

 by one, and finally they drop into the reeds, where they 

 are joined by Robins and Wrens. 



A great many species of birds roost in company, notably 

 Starlings. Others are : House-sparrows, Carrion Crows 

 (especially in Devon and Somerset), Magpies (which I 

 have observed near Barnstaple), Rooks, and Wood- 

 Pigeons. 



In North Devon, in the colder months of the year, 

 the Rooks never roost in their rookery during, at all 

 events, the months of November, December, January, 

 February, and part of March, but they collect in large 

 numbers and roost in a wood, perhaps two or three 

 miles away from the rookery. In the morning the 

 roost breaks up, and the members of each community 

 make away, with the utmost regularity, to their respective 

 rookeries. At the rookeries they stand about " talking," 

 perhaps till nine o'clock, and then they disperse to feed 

 and meet again in the evening at the roost. If the 



