JACK02
[To THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR."] SIR,—But for a way I have of never doing to-day what I can do to-morrow, you would have received long ago an account of my tame rook, for I have always intended that 'Jacko' should, if possible, be honoured with a place in the Spectator. But though through my procrastination Poppy' has fore- stalled him, possibly you will generously find room for both, especially if I can make it appear that Jacko' is the more interesting bird of the two. And so, to begin with, did 'Poppy ever build a nest ? Jacko' built a splendid one—in an apple- tree, and in the autumn—two or three years ago ; and for no ostensible purpose, unless he intended to ask the tame jack- daw—a charming little bird that always called itself John- John '—to share it with him, and between whom and Jacko there was a strong affection. I must have had him quite five years before, much to my astonishment, it occurred to him to build. I was sitting on the lawn one after- noon, and had noticed Jacko' march past me two or three times, always with a stick in his beak ; so at last I followed him, and found him hard at work trying to lay the foundations of a nest ! He was quite a fortnight over that wonderful nest, though every morning, directly he was loose (he sleeps in a cage in the greenhouse), he began to work, and never stopped, except for his meals, till, quite tired out, he went to his cage at night. I got quite sorry for him, and tried to help him sometimes by holding up sticks to him one at a time, which he took from my hand as he wanted them. When at last the nest was finished, he often had his afternoon nap in it. John-John' would never look at it.
There is a small rookery here, and Jacko' this year, instead of building on his own account, tried to help the wild rooks, following them about with twigs in his beak, and keeping with
them all day, often running after them on the lawn with some of his dinner in his beak, wanting to feed them as he fed 'John-John ;' but they snubbed him dreadfully. One day poor, social Jaclro ' must have thought he had at last found a responsive companion ; for he had flown into one of the bed- rooms, and was found bowing and cawing to the rook in the looking-glass ! And more than once since then, he has been met going upstairs with some delicacy in his beak, evidently intended for his shadowy love.
Being interested in Poppy,' I should like to suggest that there may be danger in his having his wings clipped. ' Jacko's ' were at one time, but never since the day when a neighbour's cat was found in the very act of carrying him off, and when nothing but poor Jacko's ' loud protest against the pro- ceeding—which was heard in the house—saved him. Now he can fly almost as well as any of the wild rooks, and so is safe from any such danger. Poppy's' mistress writes that they never discovered where he came from, but he would almost certainly come from the nearest rookery. Properly the young rooks do not come to the ground till they can fly well and are quite independent; it is the poor, forlorn little things that come down too soon that develop into " tame rooks," being altogether dependent upon those who chance to pick them up. I speak from sad experience, for they come down so persistently here, that I sometimes think the old birds—" impatient of the worry of them," as, alas ! has been written lately of other parents—bundle them over the edge of the nest. I think them quite clever enough to do this, and also to have discovered that the greenhouse here is a kind of foundling hospital, where their cast-out little ones will be sure of a home. In most rookeries the disposal of the young birds is a very simple affair,—the sportsman is ready with his gun as soon as the young rooks are ready for flight. I was calling one afternoon on a friend, when a lady I did not know came in, and as she also had a rookery, my friend told her of mine, and said how fond I was of the rooks. 44 Ah !" said the lady, " so am I ; I often say that through the season we almost live on rook-pie." And when I suggested that I should not like to see my rooks in a pie, her really delightful answer was : " No; some people prefer them stewed."
I am writing this letter on the lawn, and Jaeko,' after having walked up and down it with me for some time, is now perched on the garden bench near me, and pretending to be asleep ; but in reality he is wanting to get possession of my letter, and if I were to turn away for a moment, off he would fly with it, for, like Poppy," Jacko ' is a terrible thief. I wish I could tell him the contents of it, and get him to add a postscript.—I am, Sir, &c.,
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