5682 Birds. 



bvown and dotted with white ; nostrils lozenge-shaped, rather large, and placed so far 

 back as to be almost concealed by the feathers and black bristles which surround 

 them ; chin reddish brown, with a slight admixture of gray ; throat and breast blacky 

 the feathers bordering the eyes ferruginous. A white line commencing at the lower 

 mandible, where it is only a tenth, of an inch wide, but increasing to two-tenths 

 beneath the eye; it then takes an upward direction, passing round the back of the 

 head, narrowing again to one-tenth on the nape, where there are a few black hairs or 

 bristles. The quills are black, the second longest, the third little shorter, the first and 

 fourth being about the same length ; outer webs fringed with reddish brown for half 

 their length, the rest being of a light gray ; inner webs margined with white ; five first 

 quills narrow and rounded, the rest much broader and serrated at the tips. The 

 spurious wings are of a bright glossy reddish brown ; the upper coverts black, 

 margined with bright bay on the outer webs, white on the inner. The feathers of the 

 back black in the centre, but broadly margined with chestnut-brown. The wings 

 greatly resemble those of the house sparrow ; the tail consists of twelve dark feathers, 

 the two centre ones narrow and pointed, black near the shafts and at the tips ; outer 

 webs edged with cinereous, inner webs broadly margined with light reddish brown. 

 The two outer feathers are half white, but black at the base and on the shafts, that 

 colour gradually increasing till it terminates in an oblong patch. Upper tail-coverts 

 gray at the base, ferruginous towards the tips, with black shafts. The transition from 

 the black of the head to the white collar is sudden, but from the bright chestnut and 

 black of the back it is gradual, the tints becoming fainter, with an admixture of gray 

 bordering the white. Belly and vent of a pure white. Many of the feathers, both on 

 the sides and beneath the wings, have longitudinal dark brown streaks down the 

 middle, increasing in size towards the thighs. — Henry W. Hadjield ; Tunbridge, 

 March, 1857. 



Notes on the Rook (Corvus frugilegus). — Tunbridge, March 22, 1857. There is a 

 rookery in some lofty elm trees close to the town : observed this afternoon their manner 

 of building, one rook remaining to guard the nest whilst its partner flew off in search 

 of building materials ; but I remarked that, instead of picking up dead twigs or sticks, 

 it set to work to break off green ones ; after having secured two, which it retained in 

 its beak, it endeavoured to break off a third, but failing in doing so, as it was not only 

 a green but a strong twig, the rook threw itself back so as to bring its whole weight to 

 bear, not, however, relinquishing its hold of the branch on which it stood, extending 

 its wings at the same time, so as to add force to the pull ; by this means it eventually 

 succeeded in dragging or slipping it off, although its utmost powers had previously 

 failed in breaking it. There were two other nests on the same branch, one indeed 

 almost touching the first, and I counted about thirty in a more or less forward state, 

 but few, I think, were completed ; consequently it would appear that rooks are rather 

 backward with their building this season, as White tells us they begin as early as the 

 16th of February, Macgillivray mentions the same date, and Markwick the 28th of 

 February : the second-named author informs us that the nest is completed in a week 

 or ten days. ... March 27. Had another look at the rookery this afternoon ; found the 

 nests were beginning to make more show, but, from the great clamour and commotion 

 that prevailed, I am inclined to think few out of the number can yet be ready to receive 

 eg"s. I witnessed several skirmishes, besides a general assault made on a half-finished 

 nest, which was not only covered with the assailants but surrounded by them for some 

 time. I observed one of the unfortunate rooks defending its aerial castle most stoutly, 



