16 THE CROW FAMILY 



It is the persecution to which the raven is subjected in most parts 

 of Western Europe, and the difficulty it experiences in rearing a brood 

 at all, that makes the species appear far more solitary in its habits 

 than is really the case when the conditions of its life are normal. If 

 the young escape the rifle and the bird-catcher, they remain with 

 their parents at least for some months, and there can be no doubt 

 that within our shores, in parts where the species still holds its own, 

 the families will frequently unite to form flocks, small or great. They 

 are drawn together by an abundance of food at some given spot, and 

 remain until it is exhausted. For instance, in the Highlands a hare- 

 drive will attract numbers eager to hunt down with beak and talon 

 the wounded animals that have escaped the more tender mercies of 

 the dogs. And a stranded whale will bring them in numbers to 

 the shore. 



In other parts of the Northern Hemisphere, the gregarious habit 

 of the species is more marked. During autumn and winter, in the 

 snow-clad wastes of the Arctic Circle, their black bands may be found 

 holding high revel wherever there is a carcass to be devoured or a 

 refuse heap to be searched. The failure of these sources of supply 

 will, it is said, scatter the flock afar, its members then being seen 

 hunting in pairs or small parties. If from these regions of frost 

 : where the cold encircles the sable neck of each bird with a 

 snow-white ring magically made from its humid breath we pass 

 to the hot tracts of the sun-bleached Sahara, there again we 

 find the raven in flocks, wherever and so long as any spot in 

 the wilderness gives promise of food. In some parts of North 

 America the species is to be seen in thousands. Dr. Coues, 

 already quoted, speaks of incalculable numbers being present 

 throughout the winter months at Fort Whipple, the black shapes 

 dotting the snow in all directions ; they even appear to remain more 

 or less gregarious in summer. In the East, Far and Near, and in 

 Russia, not only do they flock in winter, but in many places breed in 

 close proximity, and are even found scavenging in the towns and 



