. The birds of Yorkshire : being a historical account of the avi-fauna of the County . in poplartrees and willows, whilst some birds, whose nesting treeshad been blown down, built in elder bushes within eight feetof the ground. A nest is also reported on the roof, close tothe chimney, of a house in Scarborough. At Stokesley inCleveland a colony of fifty pairs build in low saplings, andmany nests were, in 1900, not more than ten feet aboveterra fir ma. There are numerous instances recorded in Yorkshire ofvariation in plumage of this species. Two examples shot atPickering, on 13th May 1896, had
. The birds of Yorkshire : being a historical account of the avi-fauna of the County . in poplartrees and willows, whilst some birds, whose nesting treeshad been blown down, built in elder bushes within eight feetof the ground. A nest is also reported on the roof, close tothe chimney, of a house in Scarborough. At Stokesley inCleveland a colony of fifty pairs build in low saplings, andmany nests were, in 1900, not more than ten feet aboveterra fir ma. There are numerous instances recorded in Yorkshire ofvariation in plumage of this species. Two examples shot atPickering, on 13th May 1896, had the black feathers of thedorsal plumage slightly margined with grey, giving the birdsa chequered appearance of an unsuual character. White,albino, and pied varieties, also some of a dun or chocolate hue,are known, and so early as 1805 a white Rook was recorded atYork, while Marmaduke Tunstall mentioned a pied individual,also a brown coloured bird with white eyes, at his brothersresidence in Holderness (Tunst. MS., 1783, p. 56). The folk-lore connected with the Rook in Yorkshire is. An Ancient Domicile Rooks nests near Pannal. /i. Fortune. See page 252 ROOK. 253 very voluminous and interesting ; regarding its nidification a rhyme runs :— Oa the first of March, the Crows begin to search, On the first of April, they are sitting still, On the first ot May, theyre a flown away ; Croupin greedy, back again, wi Octobers wind and rain. It is considered to be unlucky to disturb the nests, andin some parts the children believe that if they chmbed theRookery trees to rob the eggs the old birds would peck outtheir eyes, and if there were young in the nests the wholecolony would attack the intruder. In Cleveland the villageboys imagine that if they call out— Crow, Crow, thy nests on fire I Itll burn the steeple, and burn the spire I any passing birds, on hearing the alarming news, fly home-wards with increased speed; and in the Craven district,if it is desired to frighten away Rooks in
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