THE ROOK . 
325 
has developed them to the utmost, makes the following remarks 
upon the roosting of this bird : — 
4 There is no wild bird in England so completely gregarious 
as the Rook, or so regular in its daily movements. The ring- 
doves will assemble in countless multitudes, the finches will 
unite in vast assemblies, and waterfowl will flock in thousands 
to the protected lakes, during the weary months of winter ; but 
when the returning sun spreads joy and consolation over the 
face of nature, these congregated numbers are dissolved, and 
the individuals retire in pairs to propagate their respective 
species. The Rook, however, remains in society the year 
throughout. In flocks it builds its nest, in flocks it seeks for 
food, and in flocks it retires to roost. 
6 About two miles to the eastward of this place are the woods 
of Nostell Priory, where from time immemorial the Rooks have 
retired to pass the night. I suspect, by the observations which 
I have been able to make on the morning and evening transit 
of these birds, that there is not another roosting-place for at 
least thirty miles to the westward of Nostell Priory. Every 
morning, from within a few days of the autumnal to about a 
week before the vernal equinox, the Rooks, in congregated 
thousands upon thousands, fly over the valley in a westerly 
direction, and return in undiminished numbers to the nest, an 
hour or so before the night sets in. 
4 In their morning passage, some stop here ; others in other 
favourite places, farther and farther on ; some repairing to the 
trees for pastime, some resorting to the fields for food, till the 
declining sun warns those which have gone farthest that it is 
time they should return. They rise in a mass, receiving ad- 
ditions to their numbers from every intervening place, till they 
reach this neighbourhood in an amazing flock. Sometimes they 
pass on without stopping, and are joined by those which have 
spent the day here. At other times they make my park their 
place of rendezvous, and cover the ground in vast profusion, or 
perch upon the surrounding trees. After tarrying here for a 
certain time, every Rook takes wing. They linger in the air 
for awhile, in slow revolving circles, and then they all proceed 
