NATURAL HISTORY NOTES. 
99 
of these splendid trees were very much injured, and the elms died off year by year 
till there are now only four or five left near the Ordnance Office above referred to. 
Passing by these fine relics of the past glorious avenue one afternoon last week, I 
heard the “caw, caw ” of a rook, and looking up I saw, to my great surprise, a 
pair busily engaged in preparing their nest on one of the topmost branches. Such 
an incident has never occurred here before — within my memory at least, now 
extending over many years. I expressed my surprise to a cabman who was 
standing by the stand on the opposite side of the road, and a,sked him about the 
matter. “ Well, sir,” he replied, “ the rooks are going to build ; there is another 
nest just above. A number of rooks flew about here a day or two ago, and seemed 
to be holding a consultation, and after much excitement they flew away again, and 
the next morning a pair came and brought some odd sticks, and soon fixed up a nest 
in this first tree, and another pair took the other tree.” lie suggested as a reason 
for this strange freak that possibly some of the trees in a neighbouring rookery 
had been cut down. Whatever may be the reason of this singular movement 
on the part of our bl;ick-coated friends, I hope the nesting will not be disturbed, 
and that later on we shall have the pleasure of seeing the young birds surveying 
us as we pass along on the top of the tram-cars. If these birds rear their young 
successfully, I quite expect that next year there will be fresh incursions, and the 
nucleus of a rookery will be established. I may mention that it is a very busy 
road at this point, and at dinaer-time and at the close of the day’s work, three or 
four hundred men employed at the Ordnance Office pass to and fro. 
Southampton. C. S. Strickland. 
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