﻿274 
  THE 
  ZOOLOGIST. 
  

  

  " 
  It 
  will 
  be 
  noticed 
  that 
  all 
  these 
  roosts 
  are 
  admirably 
  chosen 
  for 
  

   shelter 
  from 
  the 
  winter 
  storms, 
  and 
  that 
  they 
  are 
  in 
  parts 
  of 
  the 
  country 
  

   which 
  are 
  very 
  quiet 
  and 
  secluded, 
  and 
  that 
  the 
  number 
  of 
  birds 
  at 
  

   each 
  one 
  is 
  approximately 
  the 
  same, 
  although 
  it 
  will 
  be 
  understood 
  

   that 
  in 
  the 
  nature 
  of 
  things 
  the 
  numbers 
  given 
  can 
  be 
  little 
  more 
  than 
  

   a 
  rough 
  guess. 
  Many 
  of 
  them 
  also 
  form 
  large 
  rookeries, 
  but 
  whether 
  

   or 
  how 
  one 
  follows 
  as 
  the 
  result 
  of 
  the 
  other 
  it 
  is 
  difficult 
  to 
  say. 
  

   Mr. 
  W. 
  Eagle 
  Clarke, 
  of 
  Edinburgh, 
  informs 
  me 
  that 
  practically 
  all 
  

   the 
  roosts 
  in 
  that 
  district 
  are 
  also 
  large 
  rookeries. 
  With 
  the 
  exception 
  

   of 
  Bretton, 
  these 
  places 
  have 
  been 
  resorted 
  to 
  for 
  so 
  long 
  as 
  to 
  make 
  it 
  

   difficult 
  to 
  say 
  when 
  they 
  were 
  first 
  used 
  for 
  roosting 
  purposes. 
  In 
  the 
  

   case 
  of 
  Bretton, 
  until 
  this 
  winter 
  they 
  roosted 
  in 
  a 
  wood 
  about 
  a 
  mile 
  

   away 
  from 
  the 
  present 
  one, 
  but 
  have 
  had 
  to 
  give 
  up 
  this 
  on 
  account 
  of 
  

   it 
  being 
  thinned 
  during 
  the 
  past 
  year. 
  I 
  am 
  also 
  informed 
  that 
  the 
  

   Thieves' 
  Gill 
  plantation 
  will 
  be 
  cut 
  down 
  during 
  the 
  present 
  year, 
  

   and 
  it 
  will 
  be 
  interesting 
  to 
  note 
  where 
  these 
  birds 
  next 
  take 
  up 
  their 
  

   abode. 
  

  

  " 
  I 
  now 
  come 
  to 
  what 
  may 
  perhaps 
  be 
  considered 
  the 
  most 
  curious 
  

   and 
  interesting 
  phenomenon 
  in 
  connection 
  with 
  the 
  roosting 
  habit. 
  

   With 
  the 
  exception 
  of 
  W 
  T 
  eston, 
  all 
  the 
  other 
  roosts 
  mentioned 
  are 
  used 
  

   regularly 
  by 
  the 
  Books 
  in 
  their 
  own 
  districts 
  from 
  September 
  to 
  March, 
  

   and 
  once 
  they 
  have 
  all 
  settled 
  down 
  the 
  numbers 
  do 
  not 
  vary 
  until 
  

   nesting-time 
  comes 
  round 
  again. 
  In 
  my 
  first 
  attempts 
  to 
  track 
  the 
  

   Bradford 
  Books, 
  which 
  covered 
  the 
  period 
  from 
  September 
  to 
  January 
  

   I 
  was 
  considerably 
  puzzled 
  by 
  the 
  different 
  directions 
  in 
  which 
  they 
  

   seemed 
  to 
  go, 
  and 
  although 
  during 
  one 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  time 
  they 
  were 
  

   tracked 
  definitely 
  to 
  the 
  east, 
  later 
  they 
  were 
  equally 
  definitely 
  to 
  the 
  

   north 
  and 
  north-east, 
  until 
  they 
  were 
  eventually 
  found 
  at 
  Weston. 
  At 
  

   this 
  place, 
  we 
  were 
  informed 
  by 
  the 
  keeper 
  that 
  for 
  thirty 
  years 
  they 
  

   had 
  all 
  left 
  here 
  regularly 
  during 
  November 
  and 
  part 
  of 
  December, 
  but 
  

   that 
  for 
  a 
  year 
  or 
  two 
  previously 
  they 
  had 
  not 
  all 
  gone 
  for 
  this 
  period, 
  

   and 
  gave 
  as 
  his 
  reason 
  for 
  this 
  that 
  it 
  had 
  been 
  customary 
  to 
  celebrate 
  

   the 
  5th 
  of 
  November 
  by 
  a 
  good 
  display 
  of 
  fireworks 
  at 
  the 
  Hall, 
  which 
  

   had 
  latterly, 
  however, 
  been 
  discontinued, 
  and 
  that 
  this 
  had 
  frightened 
  

   the 
  birds 
  away 
  for 
  about 
  six 
  weeks 
  every 
  winter. 
  At 
  the 
  time 
  I 
  put 
  

   this 
  down 
  as 
  simply 
  one 
  amongst 
  many 
  of 
  the 
  stories 
  told 
  about 
  them 
  

   which 
  usually 
  proved 
  to 
  be 
  incorrect. 
  Since 
  then, 
  however, 
  I 
  have 
  

   watched 
  them 
  closely 
  during 
  this 
  period 
  of 
  the 
  year, 
  and 
  the 
  result 
  has 
  

   been 
  to 
  fully 
  confirm, 
  in 
  my 
  opinion, 
  the 
  keeper's 
  explanation. 
  Until 
  

   about 
  the 
  beginning 
  of 
  November 
  the 
  birds, 
  as 
  usual, 
  go 
  to 
  Weston 
  to 
  

   roost. 
  About 
  that 
  time 
  they 
  rapidly 
  fall 
  off, 
  and 
  on 
  the 
  15th 
  November 
  

   last 
  year 
  only 
  about 
  seven 
  hundred 
  roosted 
  there 
  — 
  in 
  other 
  words, 
  

  

  