the Rook, Starling and Chaffinch. 
19 
I 9 I 4 - 
N 
Month. 
Grain and 
Seed. 
Harmful 
Seeds. 
Harmful 
Mollusca. 
No. of 
Birds. 
January 
48 
0 
0 
3 
February . . 
334 
0 
0 
7 
March 
583 
0 
0 
18 
April 
0 
0 
0 
4 
May 
455 
O 
0 
7 
Total . . 
1420 
0 
0 
39 
In the following summary are shown the relative numbers of 
harmful and beneficial organisms found in the rooks examined, 
together with the number of birds, for each period of the 
investigation : — - 
Total Summary of Food. 
Harmful 
Beneficial 
No. of 
Organisms. 
Organisms. 
Birds. 
January to December, 1912 
444 
1,521 
146 
January to December, 1913 
102 
. . 2,967 
92 
January to May, 1914 . . 
112 
.. 1,428 
39 
658 
.. 5 , 9 -^^ •• 
27 7 
General Conclusions. 
It is seen from the tables that the rook appears to be most 
harmful in destroying grain, whilst the amount of good it 
does as an insect destroyer is comparatively slight. It was 
only in May, 1912, and April, 1914, that it appeared to be 
doing any real good in proportion to its damage to grain. 
In fact, it may be concluded from this particular survey 
that the rook is a harmful bird, and that the opinion of the 
part it has been supposed to play as a destroyer of such insect 
pests as Leather Jackets, Wireworms, and Chafer grubs is not 
endorsed. How the rooks obtained wheat, etc., in some of 
the summer months was not found out. 
b 2 
