THE ROOK. 
I 2 I 
only the magpie, but also the jackdaw and starling, busily 
engaged in searching for insects on the back of a sheep. 
As in the case of the jackdaw, the magpie is sometimes 
called by the latter half of his name :— 
“ And chattering pies in dismal discords sung.” 
Henry VI. Part III. Act v. Sc. 6. 
Before taking leave of the crow family, we have yet to 
notice another bird mentioned by Shakespeare, which is 
nearly related to the crow. This is the Rook ( Corvus 
frugilegus). But, notwithstanding the usefulness of the 
bird, the poet has not said much in its favour. It is 
noticed in the song in Love's Labours Lost, and is in¬ 
cluded amongst the birds of omen in the quotation lately 
given from Macbeth. 
In the Merry Wives of Windsor, Act i. Sc. 3, we find 
the expression “ bully-rook,” and it would seem that this 
epithet in Shakespeare’s time bore much the same sig¬ 
nification as “ jolly-dog ” does now-a-days. But it came 
subsequently to have a more offensive meaning, and was 
applied to a cheat and a sharper. 
We had well-nigh forgotten the Jay (Corvus glandarius), 
— Winter's Tale (Act iv. Sc. 3),—and only allude to it 
now to show that Shakespeare has not omitted it from 
his long list of birds. In Cymbeline, the name is applied 
to a gaudily-dressed person :— 
“ Some jay of Italy hath betray’d him.” 
Cymbeline, Act iii. Sc. 4. 
R 
