184 BULLETIN 191, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



much at home in the village also, perching unafraid on the roofs of 

 houses or on the totem poles. They are useful as scavengers here and 

 are not disturbed. 



We found ravens common all through the treeless Aleutian Islands, 

 frequenting the steep grassy hillsides and the rocky cliffs. In Iliuliuk 

 Village on Unalaska Island they were especially abundant and ab- 

 surdly tame. Along the beach and about the houses they were as tame 

 as hens, sitting on the fences or on the roofs of houses like tame crows. 

 They knew that they were safe here and made no attempt to fly away, 

 unless we approached too near, when they merely hopped off to one 

 side or flew a short distance to some low perch. 



Farther south, along the Pacific coast and islands of Alaska, and 

 on the Atlantic coast from Maine northward, ravens frequent the rocky 

 cliffs along the shores and are especially apt to establish themselves in 

 the vicinity of sea-bird colonies, where they can prey on the eggs and 

 young of these birds. Here they are also found on the islands that are 

 heavily wooded with spruces and other coniferous trees, sometimes 

 placing their nests in the midst of heron colonies, which suffer from 

 their depredations. 



From Pennsylvania southward, ravens are mountain birds, living in 

 the Carolinas usually above 3,000 feet, far above the range of the crows ; 

 from these heights they sometimes descend to the valleys, or even the 

 islands along the coast, to forage among the colonies of sea birds. Dr. 

 Samuel S. Dickey (MS.) tells me that in the mountains of Pennsylvania 

 and the Virginias "most of them prefer to dwell among rocks, such as 

 serpentine, quartzite, sandstone, and shale. They resort to perpendicular 

 cliffs, to escarpments thrust above forests on the flanks of mountains, and 

 to sloping talus beds in the valleys of streams. When such sites are 

 molested by too frequent visits of mankind, or when blasting takes place 

 for construction of railroads and highways, then ravens will move away. 

 They will, if the case requires them to do so, take shelter in various 

 species of evergreen growth." The Rev. J. J. Murray tells me that the 

 raven is fairly common in Rockbridge County, in the center of the valley 

 of Virginia. "It seems to me to be commoner now than it was 10 years 

 ago. This is particularly true in the Blue Ridge Mountains." 



Courtship. — Richard C. Harlow (1922), who has had considerable 

 experience with ravens in Pennsylvania, believes that they remain mated 

 for life. He bases this assumption on the fact that certain pairs that he 

 has watched year after year show certain individual characteristics by 

 which he can recognize them. The males show striking peculiarities in 

 behavior and voice. Certain pairs always nest on cliffs, though suitable 

 trees are readily available; other pairs always nest in trees, close to 



