﻿1G 
  

  

  BIRDS. 
  

  

  surface 
  (see 
  our 
  remarks 
  upon 
  this 
  lately-developed 
  habit 
  in 
  our 
  

   previous 
  volume 
  upon 
  Argyll). 
  1 
  The 
  Books 
  from 
  the 
  adjoining 
  

   glens 
  visit 
  the 
  Braes 
  of 
  Livet 
  and 
  many 
  other 
  hill 
  districts 
  early 
  in 
  

   the 
  mornings 
  or 
  at 
  night, 
  but 
  only 
  a 
  few 
  stragglers 
  usually 
  remain 
  

   throughout 
  the 
  day. 
  

  

  On 
  the 
  18th 
  April, 
  1895, 
  we 
  were 
  interested 
  in 
  watching 
  a 
  

   considerable 
  party 
  of 
  Rooks 
  busily 
  and 
  greedily 
  feeding 
  upon 
  the 
  

   swarms 
  of 
  1 
  March 
  Browns 
  ' 
  along 
  the 
  river-side, 
  actually 
  wading 
  

   into 
  the 
  shallows 
  at 
  the 
  edges 
  and 
  picking 
  them 
  off 
  the 
  water. 
  We 
  

   had 
  never 
  witnessed 
  this 
  before, 
  at 
  least 
  to 
  the 
  same 
  extent. 
  The 
  

   season 
  of 
  1895 
  was 
  a 
  late 
  and 
  a 
  very 
  dry 
  one, 
  and 
  when 
  the 
  corn 
  

   began 
  to 
  show 
  above 
  ground, 
  the 
  farmers 
  along 
  the 
  Deveron 
  valley 
  

   discovered 
  large 
  quantities 
  of 
  the 
  larva 
  of 
  the 
  Daddy 
  Long-legs, 
  or 
  

   Crane-Fly 
  (Tipula 
  oberacea, 
  L.), 
  locally 
  called 
  Tory? 
  doing 
  vast 
  

   destruction 
  among 
  the 
  roots. 
  Yet 
  not 
  a 
  Rook 
  was 
  seen 
  to 
  seek 
  

   its 
  food 
  in 
  these 
  dry 
  fields, 
  but 
  they 
  crowded 
  down 
  by 
  the 
  river- 
  

   side 
  and 
  found 
  other 
  food-supplies, 
  as 
  just 
  mentioned. 
  We 
  greatly 
  

   fear 
  Mr. 
  Kook 
  is 
  becoming 
  tender 
  and 
  effeminate, 
  and 
  does 
  not 
  

   plunge 
  his 
  beak 
  so 
  much 
  under 
  ground 
  as 
  formerly, 
  but 
  is 
  satisfied 
  

   with 
  more 
  easily 
  obtainable 
  surface 
  pickings. 
  

  

  His 
  oophilous 
  propensities 
  also 
  have 
  become 
  notorious, 
  

   especially 
  of 
  late 
  years. 
  We 
  do 
  not 
  mean 
  to 
  say 
  the 
  Rook 
  is 
  

   over-preserved, 
  as 
  his 
  name 
  is 
  never 
  mentioned 
  in 
  the 
  Bird 
  Pre- 
  

   servation 
  Bills, 
  but, 
  like 
  some 
  others 
  of 
  the 
  genus 
  he 
  belongs 
  to, 
  

   he 
  is 
  an 
  assertive 
  species, 
  and 
  fit 
  for 
  the 
  struggle 
  for 
  existence 
  

   under 
  very 
  varying 
  and 
  different 
  conditions, 
  becoming 
  more 
  and 
  

   more 
  omnivorous, 
  just 
  as 
  his 
  natural 
  food-supplies 
  become 
  scarcer 
  

   owing 
  to 
  the 
  increase 
  of 
  other 
  species 
  which 
  also 
  feed 
  upon 
  them, 
  

   or 
  according 
  to 
  the 
  difficulty 
  of 
  procuring 
  it 
  owing 
  to 
  dry 
  seasons 
  

   and 
  other 
  causes. 
  

  

  1 
  A 
  specimen 
  showing 
  scarcely 
  any 
  abrasion 
  of 
  the 
  bristles 
  of 
  the 
  bill, 
  now 
  in 
  the 
  

   Museum 
  of 
  Science 
  and 
  Art, 
  Edinburgh, 
  was 
  forwarded 
  by 
  Harvie-Brown. 
  

  

  2 
  The 
  grub 
  is 
  also 
  called 
  « 
  Leather 
  Jacket 
  ' 
  (Miss 
  Ormerod, 
  Manual 
  of 
  Injurious 
  

   Insects, 
  etc., 
  p. 
  66, 
  q.v.). 
  

  

  