124 THE BIRDS ABOUT Us. 



picion by all people other than naturalists, is an 

 abundant bird in the West, and quite rare in the At- 

 lantic seaboard States, except in scattered localities 

 immediately on the coast and among the mountains. 



Raven. 



Some years ago a family of seven ravens had their 

 home in a magnificent cedar and holly forest on the 

 Jersey coast. Wandering aimlessly about, it was in 

 June, I came upon them suddenly, and their strange 

 cries were thoroughly weird and unbirdlike. I 

 thought then how readily they might be considered 

 as words of any spoken language ; and later, that 

 same day, as I was watching the storm-clouds gath- 

 ering over the ocean, from out them came these same 

 ravens, calling aloud as they approached and uttering 

 cries as they passed over my head and made for their 

 home in the woods. It is not strange that supersti- 

 tion has invested them with wickedness, and laid at 

 their door the blame for many a misfortune. 



The Western White-necked Raven does not differ 

 essentially in its habits. 



