A ROOKERY IN SPRING 23 



A terrific commotion, a flapping of wings, a cacophony of caws overhead, 

 tells one that the Rooks are returning. What an uproar ! They are certainly 

 returning much more readily than we had dared to expect. In fact oiu- com- 

 panion has not yet disappeared under the Marsh Gate cherry-trees. And 

 in less than five minutes, we see the Rook from the right-hand nest swing up 

 into a branch not more than fifteen feet away, and stand there with lowered head 

 and shining eye, satisfying herself that all is well before going on to her eggs. 

 Then in a most amusing manner she sidles along the branch, yet nearer to us, 

 towards her nest. 



The nest is but twelve feet from the observation post so that as we watch 

 her we can see every gleaming feather. What a mistaken idea it is to suppose 

 that the Rook is ' black ' ; for as they catch the light her feathers reflect the 

 most glorious greens and purples. And in what splendid condition her 

 plumage is ! As she steps on to her nest, and prepares by ' puffing out ' her 

 breast feathers, to cover the eggs, we cannot help comparing her with the 

 battered travesties of her kind, that we sometimes see in cages. 



As she lowers herself on to the eggs, we notice that her breast feathers 

 are ' puffed out ' to such an extent that they are almost horizontal. 



The ability to raise the feathers in this way so exposes the bare patch 

 of skin on a sitting bird's breast — which is known as the ' sitting patch ' — as 

 to allow the eggs to come in direct contact with her naked skin ; the feathers, 

 of course, closing around the eggs when the bird is in position. 



As our Rook turns her head this way and that, the glossy feathers of her 

 neck would seem almost to have been dipped in oil, so brightly do they shine 

 in the sunlight. Presently, with her beak over her back, she commences to 

 preen her flight feathers, and the little ' snap ' of her beak as it reaches the 

 end of the feather is quite audible in the observation post. 



Rooks, in spite of their evil reputation, are exceedingly careful of their 

 plumage and of the cleanliness of the nest. They spend hours preening and 

 shaking their feathers, and are most watchful, when the young are hatched, 

 that no foul matter is allowed to remain in the nest. 



Anything of the kind is immediately picked up in the extreme tip of the 

 beak, carried on to the surrounding branches and dropped overboard. 



An excited ' car-r-ing ' from the nest on the left announces the fact that 

 the two young ones are about to be fed. As we turn to watch them, we see one 

 of the Rooks advancing along a branch towards them with the food pouch 

 stuffed with food. Reaching up on their shaky limbs, the young Rooks vie 

 with one another for the first share, although little seems gained by hurry, 

 for, before distributing the food, the Rook, with the help of her tongue, transfers 

 some of the food to the tip of the beak, when it is placed down the throat of 

 the young one. 



Before the second young one receives a share he, too, has to wait until the 



