266 Birds. 



To and fro, as the night-winds blow, 



The carcass of the assassin swings : 

 And there alone, on the raven-stone, 



The Raven flaps his dusky wings. 

 The fetters creak and his ebon beak 



Creaks to the close of the hollow sound : 

 And this is the tune by the light of the moon, 



To which the witches dance their round." 



BYRON'S MANFRED. 



THE RAVEN is about twenty-six inches in length, and his 

 weight about three pounds. The bill is strong, black, 

 and hooked at the tip. The plumage of the whole body 

 of a shining black, glossed with deep blue ; the back of 

 the lower part inclining to a dusky colour. He is of a 

 strong and hardy disposition, and inhabits all climates of 

 the globe. He builds his nest in trees ; and the female 

 lays five or six eggs of a palish green colour, spotted with 

 brown. It is said that the life of this bird extends to a 

 century ; and even beyond that period, if we can believe 

 the accounts of several naturalists on the subject. The 

 Raven unites the voracious appetite of the crow to the 

 dishonesty of the daw and the docility of almost every 

 other bird. He feeds chiefly on small animals ; and is 

 said to destroy rabbits, young ducks, and chickens, and 

 sometimes even lambs, when they happen to be dropped 

 in a weak state. In the northern regions, he preys on 

 carrion, in concert with the white bear, the arctic fox, and 

 the eagle. The faculty of scent in these birds must be 

 very acute ; for in the coldest of the winter days, at Hud- 

 son's Bay, when every kind of effluvium is almost instan- 

 taneously destroyed by the frost, buffaloes and other 

 beasts have been killed, where not one of these birds 

 was seen ; but in a few hours scores of them have been 

 found collected about the spot, to pick up the blood and 

 offal. The Raven possesses many diverting and mis- 

 chievous qualities ; he is active, curious, sagacious, and 

 impudent ; by nature a glutton, by habit a thief, in dispo- 

 sition a miser, and in practice a rogue. He is fond of 

 picking up any small piece of money, bits of glass or 

 any thing that shines, which he carefully conceals under 

 the eaves of roofs, or in any other inaccessible place. He 

 is easily tamed ; and, like the parrot and starling, can 



