1883-92 
FEATHERED BURGLARS 
253 
especially the males, present in the clear atmo- 
sphere of my present abode. 
‘ From the rook {Corvus friogilegiis) I have 
received nothing but favours. They take their 
share in diminishing lawn pests and other insect 
plagues ; their ways and instincts afford endless 
interest. When I took up my abode at Sheen 
Lodge there was in the elm wood leading there 
from Sheen Gate a small rookery at our end. 1 
am bound to say that at the nesting season 
complaints of being awoke and kept awake, from 
3 A.M., were frequent and well founded ; but this 
is the only exception to the pleasure which the 
cawings at evening and other seasonable times 
have given to one whose busy life, in great pro- 
portion, is spent in London. 
‘ Broderip, the author of “ Recreations in 
Natural History,” especially enjoyed his visits 
at the rooks’ breeding season, and the worthy 
magistrate declared that he should unquestion- 
ably commit certain members of the cawing 
community for theft and burglary if they had 
been other than feathered bipeds. The case 
was this. A young married couple could always 
be discriminated by the unusual activity dis- 
played in preparing the abode for the incubator 
and her coming brood, yet, by reason of the 
unconscionable practice of their elders, and 
possibly parents, they spent twice the time 
and trouble in completing the nest than did 
