THE ROOK.
[TO THR EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR."]
SIR,—Your lady-correspondent from Trinity Vicarage, Gains- borough, asks if any instance can be given similar to that of her tamed rook. I can give one such, which I had on the 3rd of last month from Mrs. Cole, of Condover Hall, near Shrewsbury, as follows :— "I have an old rook which I found on the road-side three years ago, with a gunshot wound in his side and one wing quite blown. off. He seemed very old and wild, but I brought him home, and though left completely at liberty in a tree in the garden, he has never failed to eat out of my hand, then, at once, and ever since, and shows the most extraordinary devotion and great intelligence."
In the same letter, she also sent two other accounts of a kestrel hawk and a rat, which I have had copied to add to that of the rook, in case you may be able to find room for them, as I think they may be as interesting to some of your readers as they were to me. They show what may be done with animals and birds by kindness, and are much to the credit of the writer of the letter. I must add that I asked her for leave to make
use of them as I might have opportunity, and had her ready assent to my doing so. She wrote :—
" I see in your book on British Birds,' you state that the kestrel is easily tamed. Our bird was taken from a nest last year, and put into a cage out of doors, for a few days only, until fledged. He was then turned out, and flew across the park into the woods, and was seen no more for some days, when he returned, found his way into the house, and has never voluntarily left it since. We often turn him out, and see him a mile or more from the house, but soon after find him searching for an open window by which he may reach the dining-room, where he lives by pre- ference, perching on a picture-frame, but always coming on to my husband's arm when called, even though with thirty people at dinner, and through the glare of lamps and candles. He invariably twitters a sort of soft song when we speak to him. He is a
grand bird, in perfect plumage." "I have a white rat, who lives, as all our pets do, entirely loose in the house or garden, perfectly free to leave us if they choose. The rat was given to me as old and worthless two years ago, then quite wild. He gradually became extremely tame, and during a severe illness I had last year, he took it into his head to sit on my pillow to guard me. Ever since then, he has continued to sleep there; he runs upstairs with me, and follows me to bed, sleeping always on the bolster or pillow by my head. He is very plucky, and de- fended himself during one whole night when he was shut up accidentally in the same room with a large and savage cat. He was found sitting up, with teeth and claws ready, and was per- fectly overjoyed when his human friends took him up. Though six months have elapsed, nothing will induce him to enter that room again. Our dogs are perfect friends with him. He uses his left paw always when drinking, ladling' the water up to his mouth, even from the bottom of a tumbler, and is quite left- handed.' "
I may perhaps add the following account of a rook, or rather of two rooks, which I sent to Land and Water some years back?— "I read with much interest in your last issue, in Mr. Reid's
communication, the following passage I observed a curious thing one day lately. Some food by some good Christian had been thrown out to the starving birds, when a rook came down and flew back to where he had left another rook sitting in a very weak-looking condition, and fed her with what he had picked up. This he did twice in my sight before taking anything to himself. It was a very interesting sight, and I was very much pleased with it.' "
I was particularly struck with this because I bad some time previously received from a correspondent in Wales, a stranger to me, a precisely similar account of another of these birds :— "What I wanted to mention was this. One day, in the bitterest of the weather, when I am sure our friend the rook I have spoken of was indeed reduced to great extremities, the bird nevertheless performed the following good deed. It picked up a bit of bread, carried it to another rook, which sat on the terrace wall, too shy to come nearer, and fed it there. Nor was this after having satis- fied its own hunger, for it had only just alighted."
When I put this little story down, I had a misgiving that any one who might read it would scarcely be disposed to believe it, as beyond credibility. I was, therefore, much gratified at having so soon afterwards seen such an exactly similar fact recorded in corroboration of it, as above. It was indeed, I think, a very touching incident, and one to make every one, I should hope, who reads it, have much good feeling for all God's creatures.—I am, Sir, &c.,
Nunburnlwlme Rectory, Hayton, York. F. 0. MORRIS.
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