20 BIRDS OF TUNISIA 



plains to the hills close by, where they pass the night. During the 

 day they are dispersed in pairs over the low-lying country, in search 

 of food, but towards evening they congregate together for the home- 

 ward flight. There is no doubt that this Eaven is gregarious to a 

 great extent, differing in this respect from C. corax, which is not 

 generally so, although at times even that species, according to various 

 authorities, may be found in large flocks. In the neighbourhood of 

 Gafsa and on the south-western plains of the Eegency, C. c. tingitanus 

 seems to be less numerous than it is further north, but I used to meet 

 with it in those districts occasionally, and generally in the vicinity of 

 the oueds, or dry river courses, where the high banks afford convenient 

 shelter and suitable nesting sites. South of the Chott Djerid it is 

 not uncommon in the Matmata districts, and near Tatahouine, where 

 it meets C. umhrinus. 



As a rule, both in Tunisia and Algeria, I found this Kaven shy, 

 and almost unapproachable, and it was only with the greatest difficult}' 

 I now and then succeeded in obtaining a specimen of it. In one 

 particular district the bird was so wary, that it was only with the 

 help of an equally wily Arab sportsman, that I was able to secure 

 an example of it, and that was with its head nearly completely 

 severed from the body. Why the bird should be so wild in districts 

 where it is not persecuted, it is difficult to understand, particularly 

 as it is capable of becoming very tame in other parts, and under 

 apparently identical conditions. 



Ill its diet C. c. (ingitdiiiis, like most Corvidce, may be said to be 

 omnivorous, feeding upon almost anything that may come in its way, 

 from a young lamb or kid to the smallest grasshopper or other insect, 

 locusts and coleoptera in the more desert regions affording the species 

 abundant food. The Raven also feeds on the eggs of other birds 

 and has been seen carrying off an egg in its bill. The note of 

 C. c. tingitamis, a,hoa,rse caw, is thought by some authorities to differ 

 from that of the common Eaven. Like that species, however, it has 

 other notes besides its usual call-note. A tame Eaven I have in 

 my garden at Palermo possesses quite an extensive repertoire, some 

 of its notes being exceedingly soft and musical, while others are the 

 reverse. At times it seems to be discoursing to itself in a low key, 

 and the sounds it then utters might easily be mistaken for those of 

 the human voice. The bird, which was brought up from the nest, is 

 remarkably tame and faniiliar, so much so indeed, as to be rather 



