INSESSOEES. 95 



are, tlirougli storms or other accidental causes 

 unknown to us, brought over hither." 



Family Coryidm. 



Baven, Corvus corax. As may be supposed, the 

 Raven is a rare bird in Middlesex. Mr. Jesse, in 

 his * Gleanings,* mentions a Raven which was taken 

 from a nest on the top of an elm tree in Hyde Park, 

 and I am assured by Mr. J. W. Ford, of Enfield, 

 that twenty years ago this bird used to breed regu- 

 larly in his neighbourhood, in a tree which is still 

 called " The Raven's Tree." 



Early one morning in Ma}^ 1850, one of the park- 

 keepers observed two Ravens fighting desperately in 

 the Regent's Park. One of them was killed by the 

 other, and was picked up by the keeper, who disposed 

 of it to a London dealer. A Raven in the collection 

 of Mr. Bond was also obtained in the Regent's 

 Park. 



Careion Crow, Corvus corone. Generally distri- 

 buted throughout the county, although nowhere nu- 

 merous. It is not gregarious, like the Rook, but 

 keeps in pairs, and may always be distinguished from 

 the latter bird by its not having the bare space at 

 the base of the bill, which is characteristic of the 

 Rook. It generally selects as a site for its nest a 

 tall tree in a hedgerow, but I have taken the eggs in 

 the woods at Hampstead and Highgate, and have 



