312 



BRITISH BIRDS' NESTS. 



soft whit, heard after dusk ; also a harsher, grating 

 kind of note. Local and other names : Runner, 

 Skiddycock, Brook-runner, Bilcock, Velvet-runner, 

 Grey-skit, Oarcock. A pretty close sitter, slipping 

 away without demonstration. 



RAVEN. 



(Corvus cor ax.} 

 Order PASSERES ; Family CORVID^E (CROWS). 



Description of Parent 

 Birds. Length about 

 ^^Rt~ twenty-six inches. Beak 



>p| of medium length, curved 



downward towards the 

 ^Hb*teflL4iu tip, stout, and black. 



' ~?<*<m 'iftt \ ' } 



Irides brown and grey. 

 At the base of the beak 

 are a number of coarse 

 hairs pointing forward. 

 The plumage is a uni- 

 form black, glossed with 

 a purple and blue sheen. 

 Legs, toes, and claws black. The female is a little 

 smaller, and less glossed. 



Situation and Locality. In crevices and on 

 ledges of high inaccessible cliffs, either on the sea- 

 shore or inland. The bird sometimes nests in tall 

 trees, and is to be found in the wild unfrequented 

 parts of England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland. 

 It is interesting to note that it bred in Caterham 

 Valley, not far from Croydon, some seventy years 

 ago, and in Epping Forest until a much later period. 

 Materials. Sticks of various sizes, heather 



ADULT RAVEN AT HOME. 



