350 Birds. 



pearing much delighted with the music. They informed me that this beautiful crea- 

 ture was hred up by the musicians, whom it always accompanied voluntarily. — Wm. 

 Hewelt ; East Ilsley, 



Note on the occurrence of the Red-legged Hohhy near Norwich. About a fortnight 

 since an adult male of the red-legged hobby was killed in this neighbourhood. The 

 contents of the stomach consisted of beetles. — J. H. Gumey ; Norwich^ August, 1843. 



Note on the Screech Owl. The country people hereabouts superstitiously fancy 

 that the " screech owl," as they tenn it, attends the windows of dying persons ; and I 

 have often heard old nurses say that they thought the sick person would die, for they 

 heard the owl beat against the window in the night. The fact is, these poor birds are 

 attracted thither by the light, which is generally kept burning in a sick-room. — Wm. 

 Hewett ; East llsley. 



Notes on the Rooks. It is a pretty and amusing sight, on our open downs, during 

 the sultry days of summer, to see the manoeuvres of the rooks. They all rise up in a 

 flock, and, making a tremendous cawing, wheel round and round in the air with many 

 successive circles, each time ascending in this spiral manner still higher and higher, 

 so that at last they get to such a height as to be almost invisible ; indeed I have some- 

 times seen them go quite out of sight. The noise of these birds, their numbers, and 

 singular whirling motion, are altogether highly amusing. After having thus ascended 

 to an amazing height, they successively become exhausted, when, discontinuing all 

 exertion, they fall motionless to the earth with a fearful rapidity, as though hit by a 

 bullet. When however within about twenty yards of the ground, they extend their 

 wings, and alight in safety. A yeoman near here being desirous of forming a rookery 

 on his estate, employed a poor man to construct several artificial nests, and fix them 

 in the highest trees ; which being done, the rooks of a neighbouring colony immedi- 

 ately forsook their old haunts and repaired to the desired spot, where they have ever 

 since continued to build. Kooks in this neighbourhood, during the summer months, 

 leave the hill country very early in the morning, and go to the vale, where they feed 

 during the day, returning again at night to their former haunts, which are large co- 

 verts, where the trees are thick and high, and where also they never build. These 

 immense flocks often extend more than a mile in length. In very hot weather rooks 

 often roost on the tops of the highest hills on our open downs, so that when I have been 

 riding at night, I have frequently found myself in the midst of an immense flock of 

 these birds. I have known rooks at Farnborough (which is very high ground) frozen 

 so as to be unable to escape, their wings being actually rendered useless by the frozen 

 sleet, so that the poor birds fell tumbling to the ground on attempting to fly. — Id. 



Note on the Royston Crow. The royston crow, called in these parts the " Chilton 

 dun crow,'' annually arrives in this neighbourhood in October, retiring about March. 

 This bird is very rarely seen about the hills or in the immediate vicinity of East lls- 

 ley, whilst at Chilton, only three miles distant, and throughout the vale, they are 

 common. When observed on the hills, or to the south of the downs, the country peo- 

 ple predict a hard winter. — Id. 



Note on Magpies, Jays and Crows. Many ferocious birds, such as magpies, jays 

 and crows, show their anger by making a most terrific chattering ; when any enemy 

 such as a fox or human being, approaches their nest, which no apprehensions of dan- 



