BREEDING COLONIES. 
347 
was the seat of an immense rookery, some of the trees 
being, so to speak, completely covered with Rooks’ 
nests. In the above-named year there arose a great 
famine throughout Europe, which suggested to the 
ignorant peasants the idea that these harmless creatures 
were the origin of their misfortunes, and caused them to 
look upon the Rooks as birds of ill omen, and on this 
account they were mercilessly persecuted in every 
possible manner, and immense numbers of them destroyed. 
The Rooks, rendered cautious from experience, abandoned 
the island, and only returned in any great numbers after 
they had been preserved. These birds, however, never 
again became as numerous as they had been in former 
years; for in 1818 four pairs of Common Herons 
appeared on the scene, and took forcible possession of 
several Rook’s nests, driving away their rightful owners; 
and, as the very next season the long-legged fraternity 
increased to over a hundred pairs, the Rooks were soon 
driven from the best spots, and gradually forced to retire, 
until at last they abandoned the island altogether. In 
1821 a number of Night Herons suddenly appeared and 
settled down among their cousins and the Rooks ; at first, 
however, only taking possession of such nests of the 
latter as remained unoccupied, though, after they had 
once established themselves, they became much less 
scrupulous, not hesitating to help themselves, and living 
in a state of open warfare with the unfortunate Rooks. 
As they continued to return in subsequent years, and 
reared from two to four broods in a season, they 
became excessively numerous, almost outnumbering the 
Common Herons, and are now, indeed, the principal 
occupants of the island. About the year 1826 several 
pairs of Egrets came and took up their residence between 
