THE PIE KIND. 



513 



rook, the daw, and the Cornish chough, which 

 may be all ranked in this order. They are 

 sociable and harmless; they live only upon 

 insects and grain; and wherever they arc, 

 instead of injuring other birds, they seem cen- 

 tinels for the whole feathered creation. It 

 will be proper, therefore, to describe these 

 two sorts according to their respective ap- 

 petites, as they have nothing in common but 

 the very strong similitude they bear to each 

 other in their colour and formation. 



The raven is a bird found in every region 

 of the world : strong and hardy, he is unin- 

 fluenced by the changes of the weather; and 

 when other birds seem numbed with cold, 

 or pining with famine, the raven is active and 

 healthy, busily employed in prowling for prey, 

 or sporting in the coldest atmosphere. As 

 the heats at the line do not oppress him, so 

 he bears the cold of the polar countries with 

 equal indifFerence. He is sometimes indeed 

 seen milk white ; and this may probably be 

 the effect of the rigorous climates of the north. 

 It is most likely that this change is wrought 

 upon him as upon most other animals in that 

 part of the world, where their robes, parti- 

 cularly in winter, assume the colour of the 

 country they inhabit. As in old age, when 

 the natural heat decays, the hair grows gray, 

 and at last white; so among these animals 

 the cold of the climate may produce a simi- 

 lar languishment of colour, and may shut up 

 those pores that conveyed the tincturing fluids 

 to the extremest parts of the body. 



However this may be, white ravens are 

 often shown among us, which I have heard 

 some say, are rendered thus by art ; and this 

 we could readily suppose, if they were as 

 easily changed in their colour, as they are 

 altered in their habits and dispositions. A 

 raven may be reclaimed to almost every pur- 

 pose to which birds can be converted. He 

 may be trained up for fowling like a hawk; 

 he may be taught to fetch and carry like a 

 spaniel; he may be taught to speak like a 

 parrot; but the most extraordinary of all is, 

 that he can be taught to sing like a man. I 



B At the seat of theearl of Aylesbury in Wiltshire,a tame 

 raven, that had been taught to speak, used to ramble 

 about in the park ; thpre lie was commonly attended and 

 best-t with crows, rooks, and others of his inquisitive tribe. 

 When a considerable number of these were collected round 



have heard a raven sing the Black Joke with 

 great distinctness, truth, and humour.* 



Indeed, when the raven is taken as a do- 

 mestic, he has many qualities that render him 

 extremely amusing. Busy, inquisitive, and 

 impudent, he goes every where ; affronts and 

 drives off the dogs, plays his pranks on the 

 poultry, and is particularly assiduous in cul- 

 tivating the good-will of the cook-maid, who 

 seems to be the favourite of the family. But 

 then, with the amusing qualities of a favourite, 

 he often also has the vices and defects. He 

 is a glutton by nature, and a thief by habit. 

 He does not confine himself to petty depre- 

 dations on the pantry or the larder; he soars 

 at more magnificent plunder; at spoils that 

 he can neither exhibit nor enjoy ; but which, 

 like a miser, he rests satisfied with having the 

 satisfaction of sometimes visiting and con- 

 templating in secret. A piece of money, a 

 tea-spoon, or a ring, are always tempting baits 

 to his avarice; these he will slily seize upon, 

 and, if not watched, will carry to his favourite 

 hole. 



In his wild state, the raven is an active and 

 greedy plunderer. Nothing comes amiss to 

 him ; whether his prey be living or long dead 

 it is all the same, he falls to with a voracious 

 appetite ; and, when he has gorged himself, 

 flies to acquaint his fellows, that they may 

 participate of the spoil. If the carcass be 

 already in the possession of some more power- 

 ful animal, a wolf, a fox, or a dog, the raven 

 sits at a little distance, content to continue a 

 humble spectator till they have done. If in 

 his flights he perceives no hopes of carrion, 

 and his scent is so exquisite that he can smell 

 it at a vast distance, he then contents him- 

 self with more unsavoury food, fruits, insects, 

 and the accidental dessert of a dunghill. 



This bird chiefly builds its nesf in trees, 

 and lays five or six eggs of a pale green co- 

 lour, marked with small brownish spots. 

 They live sometimes in pairs, and sometimes 

 they frequent, in great numbers, the neigh- 

 bourhood of populous cities, where they are 

 useful in devouring those carcasses that would 



him, he would lift up his head, and with a hoarse mid 

 hollow voice shout out the word Holla! This would in- 

 stantly put to (light and disperse his suhle brethren ; 

 while the raven seemed to enjoy the fright he had 

 occasioned. 



