MID-APRIL 87 
by its size and uncommon appearance. The 
Raven is the largest of our crows. He is 
very rare now, and found only in far-off and 
isolated districts. Few have seen him, or 
even heard the raucous cry of this lonely, 
long-lived bird. The chough is not, strictly 
speaking, a crow. He is somewhat smaller 
than the jackdaw. His long and arched neck, 
red beak, legs and claws distinguish him at 
once. He is found chiefly near the sea and 
on the banks of tidal rivers. The bird is 
not generally migratory, though I have seen 
some of them appear in Guernsey in the 
winter (they may have come from France). 
I can say from personal experience that their 
flesh is not appetizing. 
Many legends exist with regard to crows. 
A black bird of the crow kind is thought by 
the superstitious to be a bird of evil omen, 
and to possess in some way or other satanic 
power—because he is black! It is of the 
raven, however, that most has been thought 
and written, but I have no doubt he is 
quite guiltless of all that is ascribed to him. 
