CORVID.t. 



THE RAVEN. 

 CoRvus CORAX, Linnaeus. 



Although a diminishing species, in consequence of the hatred en- 

 tertained for it by sheep-farmers and the ease with which it can be 

 trapped, the Raven still maintains itself in the British Islands. In 

 the south its numbers are chiefly kept down by the prices paid for 

 young birds ; but even now, from Kent to Cornwall, and along the 

 rocky coasts of North Devon and Wales there is hardly a suitable 

 headland in or near which a pair does not at least attempt to breed 

 annually; nests built in tree.-, although far rarer than formerly, being 

 less uncommon than might be supposed at short distances inland. 

 Not long ago several pairs bred in Essex ; but in the eastern 

 counties and throughout the interior of England the Raven is now 

 rare. On the hills and fells of the north and west it is still to be 

 found ; while in Scotland, and especially in the islands, it is by no 

 means uncommon where there are suitable cliffs for its protection. 

 In Ireland it is still resident in the wilder parts, but its numbers 

 have decreased of late years. 



In the Fc'eroes the Raven is stationary, and pied birds, occa- 



