SOME BIRDS OF THE HEIGHTS 81 



themselves to sleep, uttering reminiscences of the 

 sounds they have been listening to throughout the 

 day. Mr. F. B. Kirkman writes in "The British Bird 

 Book " : " From' the growing congregation on the 

 ridge there descended through the thickening dusk 

 the strangest of evensongs a weird, wild medley of 

 many sounds : the barking of dogs, the bleating of 

 goats, the lowing of cows, the becking of grouse 

 calling across the moorland, and now and then the 

 deep belling challenge of the stag." Ravens are fond 

 of mimicry. 



All that we heard, however, was the deep and harsh 

 " whow, whow," uttered defiantly as birds came and 

 went, and it seemed harmonious with the sombre 

 scene. Apart from mimicking, the Raven, being a 

 big-brained bird, has a good deal to say, and in some 

 countries where it is less continually on the defensive 

 its varied notes rise at the mating season into "song." 

 An affectionate courtship has been described, with 

 beak kisses and plumage display, with jumping from 

 the ground, gambolling on the wing, and strange 

 sideslips through the air. The big nest of sticks and 

 twigs, lined with fur and wool, is built in February or 

 March on a crag; there are from three to five bluish- 

 green eggs flecked with olive-brown; both parents 

 brood; the young are fed on all sorts of animal food 

 suitably minced down. The Raven is a voracious bird 

 of prey, devouring sickly lambs and carrion, young 

 Hares and Rabbits, birds and eggs, and so on down 

 to Frogs and fishes, Crabs and insects, and even 

 Worms. It destroys large numbers of Rats, and it is 

 one of those birds that keep the balance of nature 

 steady and that sift out weakly and dying creatures. 



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