532 BRITISH BIRDS. 
CORVUS CORAX. 
RAVEN. 
(Pirate 16.) 
Corvus coryus, Briss. Orn. ii. p. 8 (1760). 
Corvus corax, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 155 (1766); et auctorum plurimorum— 
Temminck, Naumann, Gray, Schlegel, Salvadori, Gould, Dresser, Sharpe, &c. 
Corvus maximus, Scop. Ann. I. Hist. Nat. p. 84 (1769). 
Corvus carnivorus, Bartr. Trav. E. Florida, p. 290 (1793). 
Corvus leucopheeus, Vieill. N. Dict. d’ Hist. Nat. viii. p. 27 (1817). 
Corvus major, Vieill. N. Dict. @ Hist. Nat. viii. p. 27 (1817). 
Corvus leucomelas, Wagler, Syst. Av., Corvus no. 4 (1827). 
Corvus cacalotl, Wagler, Isis, 1831, p. 527. 
Corvus nobilis, Gould, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1857, p. 79. 
Corvus vociferus, Cabot, Bost. Journ. Nat. Sct. 1844, iv. p. 464. 
Corvus lugubris, Agass. Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist. 1846, ii. p. 188. 
Corvus tibetanus, Hodgs. Ann. Nat. Hist. 1849, iii. p. 205. 
Corvus ferréensis, Schl. Bijdr. Dierk, Amsterd. folio, art. Corvus, 1858, p. 6. 
The Raven, once so famous in fable, and held by the ancients in 
such respect as a bird of destiny, is now rapidly becoming scarce in 
England. Formerly it was a very common species and pretty generally 
distributed in all parts; but at the present day it appears to have either 
forsaken or been exterminated from the central parts of this country ; and 
almost the only places where a few scattered pairs are found are the bold 
rocky headlands of our coasts, in districts little frequented by man, where 
the bird, gifted as it is with no small amount of sagacity and prudence, is 
able still to maintain its ground. But slowly and surely these English 
Ravens are fast passing away; their deserted eyries possess only historical 
interest ; and the day is probably not far distant when it can no longer be 
counted as an English bird. It bred regularly in quite recent years on the 
cliffs at Flamborough ; but now a Raven is rarely seen, and does not tarry 
long; it is probably only attracted to the place by memories of more 
prosperous days. In Scotland, however, the Raven is a fairly common 
bird in some parts of the mainland and adjacent islands, especially on 
the Outer Hebrides and the Western Isles, extending to the Orkneys, 
the Shetlands, and even to St. Kilda. According to Thompson it is 
generally distributed in Ireland in all suitable localities. 
The Raven is a circumpolar bird, being found both in the Palearctic and 
Nearctic Regions. In the former region it extends as far north as land 
occurs, both in Europe and Asia. Its southern range in Europe appa- 
rently does not reach beyond the Mediterranean, although it is a common 
