BIRDS OF PREY AND THE RAVEN 217 



though no collision may actually take place, yet 

 the fact that the Raven, when it turns to face 

 its adversary, is obliged to drop the stick which 

 it carries, is not only an indication of the 

 character of the struggle, but it shows that a 

 definite end is gained — that the efforts of the 

 Raven to build in that particular locality are 

 hampered. But the Falcon is not the only 

 enemy that the Raven has to face ; Buzzards 

 are just as intolerant of the presence of Ravens 

 in their neighbourhood as the Ravens are of 

 them, and consequently there is incessant 

 quarrelling wherever the same locality is 

 inhabited. As a rule, the fighting occurs whilst 

 the birds are on the wing ; the Buzzard rises to 

 a considerable height, and, closing its wings, 

 stoops at the Raven below, and when within a 

 short distance of its adversary, swerves upwards 

 and gains a position from which it can again 

 attack. The Buzzard, however, is by no means 

 always the aggressor ; I have watched one so 

 persistently harassed by a Raven that at length 

 it left the rock upon which it was resting and 

 disappeared from view, still followed by its rival. 

 Thus it seems as if they were evenly matched, 

 and, when they occupy the same locality, it is 

 interesting to notice how the initiative passes 

 from the one to the other according to the 

 position occupied by the birds in their respective 

 territories. 



That there is constant warfare between the 

 Green Woodpecker and the Starling is well 

 known, the purpose of the Starling being to 



