1 68 The Ravex 



Lord Lilford ("Birds of Northamptoushire," \'ol. I, pp. 212-213) observes: — 

 " We have had many opportunities of closely observing the habits of this 

 eminently sagacious bird in various parts of the world, and, in spite of his 

 tendencies to murder, assault, and robbery, we must confess to a great liking for 

 him. The Raven is in this county a very earl}- breeder, generally selecting a 

 secure ledge in a cliff, more rarely a tall tree, and returning to the same locality 

 for nesting 3-ear after j'ear. The young birds often leave the nest during the 

 first fortnieht of March, sometimes before that date. We have more than once 

 heard of a full complement of eggs early in Februarj', and, on the other hand, 

 found unfledged j-oung in more than one Raven's nest as late as the middle of 

 Ma}'. The old birds are always wary, one always keeping a close look-out whilst 

 the other is on the nest, and immediately uttering a warning note on the 

 approach of danger. We have heard of Ravens vigorously attacking persons 

 attempting to harm their nests, but have never witnessed anything of the sort, 

 our experience being to the eftect that, during the siege, the parent birds usually 

 soar high in air over the nest, uttering, besides their usual croak of alarm or 

 anger, a curious sound, like the noise made by drawing a tightly fitting cork 

 from a bottle, occasionally turning complete somersaults in the air, and making 

 ferocious stoops in the direction of the invader, but always keeping well out of 

 gunshot-range. For some time after the young Ravens leave the nest they roam 

 in company with their parents, but soon separate and start off singly or in 

 couples on marauding expeditions on their own account." 



Although not strictly speaking a gregarious species, this bird when attracted 

 by food often assembles in considerable numbers ; wheu approaching a carcass it 

 does not fly directly to it, but alights at a short distance and approaches it 

 warily with heavy ungainly hops. Upon the wing it flaps heavily, but its flight, 

 nevertheless, is powerful and tolerabl}' rapid. 



The nest of the Raven is always bulky, though more so when built on 

 ledges of rocks than when placed in trees ; it consists of sticks, twigs, heather- 

 stems, and sometimes a tangle of sheep's wool. The lining is of roots, grass, 

 wool, fur, or other soft materials. The eggs number from four to six, frequently 

 five ; in ground-colour they usually vary from greenish-blue to olive-greenish, 

 more or less densely marked with deep olive-brown, the shell markings appearing 

 frequently like smears or faint patches of the same colour (as if partly washed 

 out) ; the pattern and character of the markings vary much as usual, sometimes 

 the streaks and blotches are few and large, sometimes they are mingled with 

 numerous smaller markings, sometimes again the small spots are so close together 

 as to give a different tone to the egg ; the depth of the markings also varies 



