34 SECRETS OF ANIMAL LIFE 
We shall appreciate the cawing of the rooks 
better if we inquire into the story of “the black 
republic in the elms.” It is in February that the 
rooks’ spring begins, for then there is the courting. 
This takes place, not once in a lifetime, but every 
spring, between mates who have been married for 
years. For they seem to be monogamous. The 
cock-bird struts and bows before the hen, and 
spreads his wings and tail. Moreover, as Gilbert 
White observed long ago, “rooks, in the breeding 
season, attempt sometimes, in the gaiety of their 
hearts, to sing, but with no great success.” It should 
be noted, however, that the singing, the bowing, and 
the tail-spreading are not restricted to the time of 
courtship, but may be indulged in at any time of 
excitement or jollity. Very interesting is Mr. F. B. 
Kirkman’s note that the male bird sometimes 
brings a tit-bit to his desired mate, which she 
accepts “with quivering wings and stifled thanks.” 
This offering of love-gifts occurs sporadically 
among animals. It is part of the ritual which aims 
at working up the female’s excitement, and in the 
case of the rook and many other birds it finds a 
second expression, probably the primary one, when 
the male brings food to the nesting female and to 
the nestlings. 
The courtship is followed, early in March, by the 
preparation of the nest. An old nest may be used 
over again after a thorough spring-cleaning, or a 
fresh one may be built. As every one knows, there 
is a good deal of vigorous quarreling over the 
