56 
POUCH OF THE ROOK. 
insects in their mouth, and they confine them there, 
without letting them go down the throat. 
By this process, a rook is enabled to pick up a 
sufficient supply of food, some miles from the nest ; 
and when its mouth will hold no more insects, the 
bird takes flight, and carries them to its expecting 
brood. The carrion crow, the jay, the magpie, 
and the jackdaw do the same thing precisely. 
Now; the gathered insects, being prevented from 
descending into the stomach, and at the same time 
not being able to escape at the bill, must necessa- 
rily form a lump under the lower mandible, where 
the skin, in all birds, is admirably formed for dis- 
tension. This lump is what has given rise to the 
notion among naturalists, that the rook is furnished 
with a pouch at the root of the tongue. If this 
pouch be allowed in the rook, then it must be 
admitted that all birds are furnished with a pouch ; 
and it must also be admitted that our tars are fur- 
nished with a pouch betwixt the mouth and the ear, 
because, for convenience sake, they stow away their 
quid in that quarter. 
It may be easily accounted for, why ornithologists 
make no mention of a pouch under the tongue of 
the jay, the jackdaw, the magpie, and the carrion 
crow, while they describe, with such plausibility, a 
pouch at the root of the tongue of the rook. The 
reason is this, — the rook, in general, is the friend of 
man, and, in the breeding season, he becomes so 
tame that he may be approached within a few yards. 
This gives you a fine opportunity of observmg the 
