CHAPTER VI. 



RAVENS. 



ALTHOUGH in the category of British breeding birds 

 the Raven* may be labelled " uncommon," many 

 more survive in our islands than is popularly 

 supposed. Were it not for the ruthless slaughter 

 that thins its already shattered forces annually, and 

 were it not that the bird is extremely jealous, not 

 only of its nest-haunt but also of its hunting-beats, 

 which it is prone to patrol daily at practically the 

 same hours, there cannot be the least doubt that 

 it would soon increase. 



As things stand, however, many ancient sites 

 are tenantless, the Raven knows them no more ; 

 and even where the bird is tolerably plentiful, two 

 tenanted eyries are seldom met with less than two 

 or three miles apart. All the same, in a certain 

 area which shall remain nameless, I have visited 

 and stormed five used nests in under six hours, and 

 these were not on a range of sea-cliff, where the 

 task had been easier. Where the Raven is scarce, 

 ten miles or more often divide two couples. 



Turning to its present distribution, it is good 

 to know that, at irregular intervals all along the 



* Corvus cor ax L. 



