194 BULLETIN 191, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



bird; but even here it is always on the alert, and, if one picks up a 

 stone or makes any other suspicious move, it is off in an instant. 

 Kumlien (1879) relates the following, to illustrate its resourcefulness: 



I have, on different occasions, witnessed them capture a young seal that lay 

 basking in the sun near its hole. The first manoeuvre of the ravens was to sail 

 leisurely over the seal, gradually lowering with each circle, till at last one of 

 them dropped directly into the seal's hole, thus cutting oflf its retreat from the 

 water. Its mate would then attack the seal, and endeavor to drag or drive it as 

 far away from the hole as possible. The attacking raven seemed to strike the 

 seal on the top of the head with its powerful bill, and thus break the tender 

 skull. ♦ ♦ ♦ 



I witnessed a very amusing chase after a Lepus glacialis. There were two 

 ravens, and they gave alternate chase to the hare. Sometimes the raven would 

 catch the hare by the ears, and hare and raven would roll down th.e mountain 

 side together thirty or forty feet, till the raven lost his hold, and then its com- 

 panion would be on hand and renew the attack. They killed the hare in a short 

 time, and immediately began devouring it. * * * 



Young reindeer fall an easy prey to them. When they attack a young deer, 

 there are generally six or seven in company, and about one-half the number 

 act as relays, so that the deer is given no rest. The eyes are the first parts at- 

 tacked, and are generally speedily plucked out, when the poor animal will thrash 

 and flounder about till it kills itself. 



C. J. Maynard (1896) writes: "Dr. E. L. Sturtevant informed me 

 that he was at one time standing on a beach at Grand Menan, when he 

 saw a Gannet soaring very high in the air with, what appeared to be, a 

 black spot above and below it. The bird seemed distressed and con- 

 tinued to mount upwards until both dark spots were seen to be above 

 it, when suddenly it fell from that immense height, struck the ground, 

 and was actually dashed to pieces by the force of the shock. Dr. Sturte- 

 vant approached it, when a Raven sprang from the body and flew away." 



The behavior of ravens with other species of birds, notably crows, 

 hawks, and vultures, has been commented on by many observers, but 

 it is not always apparent which is the aggressor. Emerson Tuttle writes 

 to me that the raven "rarely, if ever, leaves a sentinel on watch, relying 

 on the crow or the herring gull to give the alarm. Once on the ground 

 among crows and herring gulls, the raven dominates. I have seen a gull 

 utter his screaming challenge in the face of a raven, but once the raven 

 moved forward, the gull gave way. I have seen the raven and the gos- 

 hawk together on several occasions. I watched a young goshawk chase 

 and strike at a raven. The raven did not seem disturbed, though each 

 time the goshawk rolled to one side and struck at him, the raven let out 

 an oath and avoided the touch by rolling and dropping. It would be 

 reading too much into the episode to suggest that the raven enjoyed the 

 chase, but such was the impression he gave. The goshawk tired first 

 and gave it up." 



