THE NEST ON THE GREY CRAG 115 



he dashed at his opponent. Whether the 

 Kestrel misjudged the speed of the Raven, 

 or whether he " slipped" in his flight, it 

 is impossible to say ; but with one of 

 those great rushes the Raven for a moment 

 seemed to be mixed up with the Kestrel, 

 and the next second the smaller bird, 

 lifeless and with his head completely 

 severed from his body, just tumbled down 

 to the bottom of the glen, and the Raven, 

 with one or two loud cries, went back to 

 the rock over his nest. It was not easy 

 to see what really happened, but I think 

 the bird's head was severed with a stroke 

 from the wing of his enemy. 



It is not often that the Raven will 

 attack a human being, for I have noticed 

 that, in the majority of cases, the birds 

 will leave their nest long before we reach 

 it, and will not be seen while we remain 

 in the immediate locality ; but two years 

 ago I spent three hours in the company 

 of the boldest pair of Ravens that I have 



