54 POUCH OF THE ROOK. 



author of the second edition of Montagu was dozing 

 when he deprived the rook (Corvus) of the good 

 old sensible epithet frugilegus, and put that of prae- 

 datorius in its place. 



ON THE SUPPOSED POUCH UNDER THE 

 BILL OF THE ROOK. 



Nec aliud quicquam . . . quseritur, 



Qu^m corrigatur error ut mortalium, 



Acuatque sese diligens industrra." Ph^drus. 



We read in Rennie's Montagus Ornithological 

 Dictionary, that "the rook is furnished with a 

 small pouch at the root of the tongue/' If the 

 carrion crow were as useful to man, as the rook 

 is known to be ; if the jay and the magpie had less 

 to answer for, on the score of petty plunder ; and 

 if the jackdaw did not expose itself to persecution, 

 by its prying and suspicious habits, they would 

 all be allowed by man to range at large without 

 molestation ; and then the naturalist would have 

 that opportunity of examining their economy, which 

 at present is denied him. 



Amongst many peculiarities in these birds, 

 scarcely known, or even noticed, he would ob- 

 serve that at a certain time of the year, and only 

 then, they all have, at intervals, an appearance of 



