88 



HISTORY OF BIRDS. 



tion would but obscure our ideas of them. The 

 raven is the largest of the three, and distin- 

 guished from the rest not only by his size, but 

 by his bill being somewhat more hooked than 



they patiently watched, they might have found that the 

 quiet soarings of the raven and the rapacious species 

 have no reference to prey. On the other hand, it may 

 sometimes be observed gliding along, and every now and 

 then shifting its course, in the heaviest gales, when 

 scarcely another bird can be seen abroad. Although 

 there is not much reason for calling it "the tempest- 

 loving raven," it would be a severe storm indeed that 

 would keep it at home when a carcase was in view. 



Having enjoyed ample opportunities of cultivating an 

 acquaintance with this species in the outer Hebrides, I 

 shall describe its manners as observed by me in those 

 dreary, but to the naturalist, highly interesting islands. 

 There the raven, in search of food, may be seen, either 

 singly or in pairs, in all sorts of situations, along the 

 rocky shores, on the sand fords, the sides of the hills, 

 the inland moors, and the mountain tops. It flies at a 

 moderate height, proceeding rather slowly, deviating to 

 either, sailing at intervals, and seldom uttering any 

 sound. When it has discovered a dead sheep, it alights 

 on a stone, a peat bank, or other eminence, folds up its 

 wings, looks around, and croaks. It then advances 

 nearer, eyes its prey with attention, leaps upon it, and 

 in a half-crouching attitude examines it. Finding mat- 

 ters as it wished, it croaks aloud, picks out an eye, de- 

 vours part of the tongue if that organ be protruded, and 

 lastly attacks the subcaudal region. By this time ano- 

 ther raven has usually come up. They perforate the ab- 

 domen, drag out and swallow portions of the intestines, 

 and continue to feast until satiated or disturbed. Some- 

 times, especially should it be winter, they are joined by 

 a great black-backed gull, or even a herring gull, which, 

 although at first shy, are allowed to come in for a share 

 of the plunder; but should an eagle arrive, both they 

 and the gulls retire to a short distance, the former wait- 

 ing patiently, the latter walking backwards and forwards 

 uttering plaintive cries, until the intruder departs. When 

 the carcase is that of a larger animal than a sheep, they 

 do not however fly off, although an eagle or even a dog 

 should arrive. " Feris convivialis," observes Linnaeus, 

 and the fact is proverbial in the Hebrides, where this 

 bird is named Biadhtach, and where biadhtachd, Avhich 

 etymologically is analogous to ravening, signifies asso- 

 ciating for the purpose of eating and making merry. 

 These observations I have made while lying in wait in 

 little huts constructed for the purpose of shooting eagles 

 and ravens from them. The latter I have allowed to 

 remain unmolested for hours, that they might attract the 

 former to the carrion ; and in this manner I have been 

 enabled to watch their actions when they were perfectly 

 unrestrained. 



Although the raven is omnivorous, its chief food is 

 carrion, by which is here meant the carcases of sheep, 

 horses, cattle, deer, and other quadrupeds, dolphins and 

 cetaceous animals in general, as well as fishes that have 

 been cast ashore. In autumn it sometimes commits 

 great havock among the barley, and in spring it occa- 

 sionally destroys young lambs. It has also been accused 

 of killing diseased sheep by picking out their eyes; but 

 of this I have obtained no satisfactory evidence. It an- 

 noys the housewives by sometimes flying off with young 

 poultry, and especially by breaking and sucking eggs 

 whit-h the ducks or hens may have deposited, as they 

 frequently do, among the herbage. 



In these islands, should a horse or a cow die, as in my 

 younger days was very frequently the case iu the begin- 

 ning of summer, after a severe winter or spring, or 

 should a grampus or other large cetaceous animal be cast 

 on the shore, the ravens speedily assemble, and remain 



that of the rest. As for the carrion-crow and 

 the rook, they so strongly resemble each other, 

 both in make and size, that they are not easily 

 distinguished asunder. The chief difference 



in the neighbourhood until they have devoured it. A 

 large herd of grampuses, delphinus orca, having been 

 driven by the inhabitants of Pabbay on the sand beach 

 of that island, which is one of those in the Sound of 

 Harris, an amazing number of ravens soon collected 

 from all quarters, and continued for several weeks to 

 feast upon the carcases. By the time when this supply 

 of food was exhausted, autumn was advancing, and the 

 inhabitants became alarmed lest, should the ravens pro- 

 long their stay, they should attack their barley, which 

 was their main stay, as they depended chiefly upon it 

 for the means of paying their rents, a regular system of 

 illicit distillation having, for reasons not difficult to be 

 guessed, been permitted for many years. Various expe- 

 dients were tried in vain, until at length a scheme was 

 devised by one Finlay Morison which produced the de- 

 sired effect. The ravens retired at night to a low cliff 

 on the east side of the island, where they slept crowded 

 together on the shelves. Finlay and a few chosen com- 

 panions, intimately acquainted with the principal fissures 

 and projections of the rock, made their way after mid- 

 night to the roosts of the ravens, caught a considerable 

 number of them, and carried them off alive. They 

 then plucked off all their feathers excepting those of the 

 wings and tail, and in the morning when their com- 

 panions were leaving their places of repose, let loose 

 among them these live scare-crows. Tiie ravens, terri- 

 fied by the appearance of those strange- looking creatures, 

 which it seems they failed to recognize as their own 

 kinsfolk, betook themselves to flight in a body, and did 

 not return to the island. It was in this numerous con- 

 gregation of ravens that the white individual of which 

 I have already made mention occurred, and which the 

 people, considering it as the royal bird, regarded with a 

 kind of superstitious reverence. On another occasion, 

 when a whale had been cast ashore on the farm of Big 

 Scarista, I have seen these birds impatiently waiting on 

 the rocks around, until the people who were flencing it 

 went home, carrying creels full of the flesh with them 

 for domestic consumption, when the ravens descended 

 to the carcase, and gorged themselves with all haste. 



The voice of the raven is a hoarse croak, resembling 

 the syllable Crock or Cruck j but it also emits a note not 

 unlike the sound of a sudden gulp, or the syllable Cluck, 

 which it seems to utter when in a sportive mood; for 

 although ordinarily grave, the raven sometimes indulges 

 in a frolic, performing somersets and various evolutions 

 in the air, much in the manner of the rook. 



Taken from the nest when nearly able to fly, the raven 

 is easily reared, very soon learns to feed by itself, and 

 becomes an amusing, although occasionally mischievous 

 pet. It defends itself against dogs and cats with great 

 courage and success, and may be taught to pronounce 

 words with considerable accuracy. Numerous stories 

 are told of its thieving propensities; but let one suffice: 

 " We have been assured,''' says Montagu, " by a gentle- 

 man of veracity, that his butler having missed a great 

 many silver spoons and other articles, without being able 

 to detect the thief for some time, at last observed a tame 

 raven with one in his mouth, and watched him to his 

 hiding-place, where he found more than a dozen." 



I know no British bird possessed of more estimable 

 qualities than the raven. His constitution is such as to 

 enable him to brave the fury of the most violent tem- 

 pests, and to subsist amidst the most intense cold; he 

 is strong enough to repel any bird of his own size, and 

 his spirij is such as to induce him to attack even the 

 eagle ; his affection towards his mate and young is great, 

 although not superior to that manifested by many other 



