THE BIRDS OF BRECONSHIRE. 31 
Brecon, and it nests also in _ several 
places in and near the town. Ornitholo- 
gists residing in this county agree with 
me that it is far from rare: and therefore 
I can only arrive at the pleasant 
conclusion that, although elsewhere 
generally considered a scarce bird, this 
county seems exceptionally favoured. It 
was unusually plentiful here in 1897. 
The Welsh is Clerdd aliwr brithog. 
RAVEN, Corvus corax. 
Still common, and I think will remain 
so, a great part of the county being 
.unpreserved, and these birds frequent the 
mountains and highest hills, which are 
very little disturbed. Wherever you 
happen to come across a dead sheep you 
are sure to hear the hoarse croak of the 
Raven. This bird lives to a great age. 
When a boy, in Wiltshire, I used to pay 
a visit—generally on a Sunday—to some 
friends that lived in an old manor house 
where there was a tame Raven; he was 
then about twenty years old, and full of 
all sorts of mischief and iniquity, but 
being a great favourite and a good talker 
he had pretty much his own way. jf 
