THE RAVEN, &C. 221 



rally prone to the commission of theft, and tea-spoons, 

 rings, and pieces of money, are frequently found in 

 his hole or nest. 



The raven generally builds its nest in high trees or 

 old towers, and lays five or six eggs of a paleish green, 

 marked with small brown spots. The longevity of this 

 bird is said to be very great ; for Hesiod asserts, that 

 they will live nine times as long as the human species, 

 and many have been known to exist an hundred years. 

 The Romans held the raven in high estimation, as be- 

 ing the bird which God selected to supply the prophet 

 Elijah with food. 



The carrion-crow resembles the -raven in its appe- 

 tites ; it only differs by being less docile, and less fa- 

 voured by mankind. 



The rook has not a carnivorous appetite, but feeds 

 entirely upon insects and corn. These singular birds 

 have a natural antipathy to every stranger of their own 

 race, and, if they presume to encroach upon their ha- 

 bitation, drive them away with the appearance of the 

 most inveterate spite. The rook seems attached to 

 human society, and frequently establishes its constitu- 

 tion amidst their abode ; for they generally prefer a 

 grove in the centre of a city, to one that is more re- 

 mote from bustle and noise. During the winter the 

 rookery is deserted, or only inhabited by a few, to 

 guard it from being seized ; but at the commencement 

 of spring its possessors return, and soon deposit their 

 eggs in the nests they had formerly made. The young 

 ones, which had been hatched the preceding year, 

 make frequent depredations upon their parents' nests ; 

 and, to prevent the trouble of searching far for mate- 

 rials, fly away with the choisest of their sticks. These 

 daring encroachments upon their property are always 



