ROOKS IN PHEASANT COVEBTS- 69 



down on it.' Lord Dunsandle's place is witWn fifteen or 

 sixteen miles of Lord Clonbrock ; tliere are three rookeries in 

 it, and tlie first question I asked the keeper on my arrival 

 there to shoot was, 'Do the rooks suck or damage the 

 pheasants' eggs ? ' The answer was, ' No ; ' nor did they do 

 so till this year. But about a week ago I received from Lord 

 Dunsandle a letter, in which he said, ' This year the rooks 

 have taken to destroying my pheasants' eggs, and the 

 mischief they have done is incredible ; the fields are strewn 

 with broken eggs.' It would therefore appear that not only 

 do rooks destroy eggs, but that they take to it in a sudden 

 and unaccountable manner. There can be no question here 

 about the work being done by carrion crows, for the only 

 carrion crow in Ireland is the Royston or hooded crow.* 

 The reason that Mr. Barnes had no shells under the trees in 

 the rookery is, that the rook breaks and eats the eggs on the 

 spot. Jackdaws will eat eggs whenever they can find them, 

 and my keeper assures me that a short time since he saw one 

 take a little rabbit up in his claws several yards, and then 

 drop it on his approach. This colony of jackdaws is situated 

 in some high clifEs, and is increasing in numbers every year." 



Mr. Leno, a very extensive pheasant breeder, states the 

 case still more forcibly : — "My experience is, that rooks will 

 destroy pheasants' eggs whenever they happen to find them 

 out. In one week a rook came twice and settled down in my 

 pheasantry, and took an egg away each time : and where 

 rooks abound, if perchance a pheasant's or partridge's nest is 

 left by the mowers, the rooks may be seen crowding around 

 the patch of grass left for shelter, and the eggs are finished 

 in quick time. It is useless to leave a nest exposed in the 

 neighbourhood of rooks, as they are sure to eat them.'' 



Mr. Harman, of Riverstown, co. Sligo, writes : " I am 

 unwilling to bring in a case against that useful bird the rook, 



* It is now ascertained that the Carrion and the Boyston crows are 

 merely varieties of one and the same species, and that they breed together 

 with great freedom. Both varieties occur in Ireland. 



