RAVEN. 537 
we did not see her again; but the cock instantly flew down towards us 
with a menacing bark to give us battle. We were well acquainted with 
his complacent pruk, pruk, as he used to sail over the valley in his daily 
rambles; but this was an angry hoarse growl. The nest had been fre- 
quently robbed ; and he had grown bold from experience. We were soon 
at the foot of the tree, and, throwing a line over the lowest available 
bough, were soon in a position whence we could ascend further, aided by 
our hands and feet. The nest was at an immense height ; and as we drew 
nearer to it the Raven became bolder, and we had to stop occasionally and 
menace him. At times he must have been within a few yards of us, sailing 
from one tree to-another, and darting at us as he passed. At last we 
reached the nest—a large structure of twigs of many years’ accumulation, 
very compact, and very difficult to reach round. It was built almost at 
the top of the tree, in a fork at the end of a bough, and in a position not 
very safe to hold on by. With care, cap between our teeth to keep our 
friend off, we got one hand over the nest, and could just balance ourself 
sufficiently to look over its edge. There to our delight, on the lining of 
sheep’s wool and fine fibre, rather deep down, lay three fresh eggs, just 
like the ones in the-second figure of Hewitson’s third edition. By great 
care, and by keeping the bird at bay with our handkerchief, we succeeded 
in getting them safely down. We slowly retired as we came, the cock 
bird tearing off the twigs and driving us before him, with ruffled feathers, 
savage barks, and short menacing sallies; and it was not until we were 
some little distance from his nesting-place that we really felt out of danger. 
At this lapse of time we confess our robbery seems rather cruel; but never 
shall we forget our visit to the ‘ Raven’s tree.’ ”’ 
The eggs of the Raven are from four to six in number, five being not an 
unusual clutch. In colour and markings they do not differ from those of 
the Carrion-Crow and the Rook, and go through the same variations as the 
eggs of those birds. They are bluish green or greenish brown in ground- 
colour, more or less thickly marked with dark olive-brown. In some 
specimens the markings are very sparse; in others so thick as often to 
hide the ground-colour. Certain varieties have the colour confined to a 
few streaks of yellowish brown, whilst others are sparingly blotched with 
rich greenish brown (almost black), intermingled with greyish underlying 
spots. A rare and beautiful variety of the Raven’s egg 1s sometimes 
obtained reddish white in ground-colour, spotted with rich reddish brown 
and splashed with violet-grey. This type of egg closely resembles certain 
varieties of those of the Moorhen, and also approaches very closely in colour 
to the eggs of a South-African Crow, C. capensis. In size and shape 
Raven’s eggs vary considerably, some specimens being quite undistinguish- 
able from eggs of the Carrion-Crow. ‘They vary in length from 2°1 to 
1:7 inch, and in breadth from 1°4 to 1°25 inch. ° 
