BRITISH BIRDS AND THEIR EGGS. 



BLACK BIRDS. 



ROOK. — Plate 1. Length,* 19 inches. Plumage 

 entirely black with lustrous sheen ; bill and legs 

 also black ; at the base of the bill a patch of naked, 

 scurvy skin, grayish -white, this patch being feathered 

 in young birds until their second moult. Resident. 



Eggs. — 3 to 5, bluish-green, blotched ' with olive- 

 brown; 1-6 X 1-15 inch (plate 121). 



Nest. — Of twigs and turf, lined with roots and 

 straw, and placed usually in high trees. 



Distribution. — Common throughout the British 

 Isles, though less so in Scotland than in England 

 and Ireland. 



The Eook is a walking bird, and proceeds with a 

 waddling gait, hopping only "when in a hurry or 

 when it cannot stride a gap. The cry is a raucous 

 ' Caw ! ' Hooks nest in colonies in high trees, mostly 

 elms, and feed in flocks in the fields. In keeping with 

 its omnivorous habits, however, the bird may be found 

 feeding on the Seashore. During autumn and winter 

 Jackdaws and Starlings associate with Rooks in their 

 feeding-grounds ; when disturbed the Jackdaws fly 



* MeafHTements of length throughout this book are from the tip of the 

 tiijl to tl)e en4 of tbe UiH, 



