Till'; K.WEx. 251 



and before they lay, the cocks begin to feed the hens, who receive tlieir bounty with a 

 fondling-, tremulous voice and fluttering wings, and all the little blandishments that are 

 expressed by the young while in a helpless state, and that this gallant deportment of the 

 male is continued tlirough the whole season of incubation." 



THE RAVEN.* 



The Raven, which is the largest species of its order, is black, but there arc purplish 

 reflexions on the upper part of the body, and greenish tints underneath. The female is 

 distinguished by a colour less deep, b}- a weaker bill, and by being rather smaller than 

 the male. The plumage of the young, also, is not so decided a black, and it is ^^-ithout 

 reflexions. The tongue is black, cylindrical at the base, flatted and forked at the 

 extremity ; the wsophagus is dilated at the point of its junction with the stomach, and 

 forms a sort of gizzard, of which this bird is otherwise destitute. The stomach of the 

 raven is neither muscular, like that of the gal^naceous and other birds, nor is it like that 

 of the birds of prey and of quadrupeds, but, in point of solidity of its coats, is inter- 

 mediate between the two. Thus, a small tinned tube will not bo altered in shape in the 

 stomach of this bird, though it will be in that of a pigeon ; but a tube of load, being a softer 

 metal, will be flatted in the stomach of a ra\'en, though an ordinary membranaceous 

 stomach will have no such efiect upon it. In accordance with this comparative weakness 

 of stomach in these birds, we find that when they take grain, they break it by means of 

 the bill or feet before they swallow it. 



Carrion and putrid animal matter, which the)' can smell at a great distance, forms the 

 basis of the food of these birds ; whfen such, however, is not forthcoming, they live on 

 fruits, grain, insects, dead fish, and molluscous animals, whose shells they break against 

 stones. It is said that they will at times attack living animals, as rats, partridges, and 

 frogs, and that falling on the back of the larger sort, as asses and buifiiloes, will seriously 

 injure them by rejjeated strokes with the bill. The fetid nature of their food renders 

 these birds unfit for the table. Thej' v^ere unclean to the Jews, and are generally 

 considered in a similar light by most savage nations. 



Ravens, when threatened or attacked, fear neither cats nor dogs ; and render them- 

 selves formidable, not merely to children, but even to men, whose legs they will peck at, 

 and wound, with some effect. Notwithstanding their courage, however, they may be 

 brought to associate with man ; and they have been employed for purposes of falconry. 



They are also greatly attached to one another, and live, in general, in pairs, each 

 pair remaining connected for several years, probably for the whole period of their lives. 

 They make their nests in the crevices of rocks, in holes towards the tops of deserted 

 towers, and sometimes on the summit of an isolated tree. This nest, which is very large, 

 is composed exteriorly of branches and roots ; bones of quadrupeds, or fragments of hard 

 substances, form the second coat ; and the interior is lined with moss, etc. The female 

 lays, about the month of March, five or six pale greenish and bluish eggs, lined and 

 spotted \vith a neutral tint ; both the male and female sit, and the incubation lasts about 

 twenty days. There niav be generally found in the vicinity of these nests a considerable 

 accumulation of grains, nuts, fruits, and other things, though it appears these hoards are 

 rather made by the blind instinctive impulse of the bird, than for the use of the young. 

 These at their birth are whitish. 



It is said that the mother leaves the young for some time after their birth without 

 nourishment, and that she prepares the first food they have for them in her stomach, in 

 the manner of pigeons. As is generalh* the case with animals of a sort of domestic 

 inclination, the male defends his young family with great courage and address, and will 

 succeed in repelling the attacks of the kite. 



' Coitus Coras. 



