THE PIE KIND. 177 



to give the character of every private man in the 

 army, but only of such as have been distinguished 

 by their conduct, courage, or treachery ; so should 

 the historian of nature only seize upon the most 

 striking objects before him, and, having given 

 one common account of the most remarkable, re- 

 fer the peculiarities of the rest to their general 

 description. 



CHAPTER II. 



OF THE RAVEN, THE CROW, AND THEIR AFFINITIES. 



THE Raven, the Carrion-Crow, and the Rook, 

 are birds so well known, that a long description 

 would but obscure our ideas of them. The raven 

 is the largest of the three, and distinguished from 

 the rest not only by his size, but by his bill being 

 somewhat more hooked than 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 to be found between them lies in 

 the bill of the rook ; which, by being frequently 

 thrust into the ground to fetch out grubs and 

 earth-worms, is bare of feathers as far as the eyes, 

 and appears of a whitish colour. It differs also 

 in the purple splendour or gloss of its feathers, 

 which in the carrion-crow are of a more dirty 

 black. Nor is it amiss to make these distinctions, 

 as the rook has but too frequently suffered for its 



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