34G 



PASSERES. BIRDS. CORVID.K. 



zone, the severe winters of which it is able to survive. 

 It is usually an inhabitant of the wildest and most 

 secluded districts, haunting the rocks of the sea-coast or 

 the sides of mountains, or the forests occupying exten- 

 sive plains, and from its vigilance and sagacity its 

 destruction is by no means an easy matter. 



In the choice of his food the Raven is not at all par- 

 ticular, but feeds indiscriminately upon everything 

 capable of supplying him with nourishment ; he preys 

 upon the smaller mammalia, birds, and reptiles, plunders 

 birds' nests, and devours any carrion that falls in his 

 way, diversifying this sufficiently varied diet by picking 

 up insects, grain, and fruits. On the coast the dead 

 fish and other animal matters constantly washed up by 

 the waves, furnish him with abundant nutriment. His 

 boldness also prompts to attack even the sickly and 

 young individuals of large mammalia, and the sheep in 

 mountainous districts are constantly exposed to his 

 assaults. Whenever he observes an opportunity of 

 securing a supply of food by this means, he commences 

 by attacking the eye of his victim, and then proceeds 

 to regale himself upon the flesh. When his appetite is 

 satisfied, he retires to allow his food to digest, but soon 

 returns for more. The remarkable instinct which leads 

 the Raven and several of the other large crows to any 

 spot where a supply of carrion is to be obtained, has 

 often excited the wonder of naturalists ; especially as 

 they frequently come together in considerable numbers 

 at a spot where none were to be seen but a short time 

 before. As in the case of the vultures, the means by 

 which they are enabled to dete ct the existence of their 

 distant food has long been a matter of dispute among 

 naturalists; some thinking that they discover their 

 repast by the sense of smell, and others by that of 

 sight. The most probable supposition seems to be that 

 put forward by Mr. M'Gillivray, namely, that those 

 which come from a distance are induced to undertake 

 their journey by observing the movements of others 

 within sight of the feast. 



The voice of the Raven is a hoarse croak, and this, 

 coupled with his intense black colour and the sagacity of 

 his appearance, has no doubt had much to do with the 

 evil reputation conferred upon this bird by the inhabi- 

 tants of most countries. Almost everywhere indeed 

 the Raven is regarded as a bird of ill omen, sharing 

 with the owls in the superstitious horror of the ignor- 

 ant. By the ancient Icelanders this bird was dedicated 

 to Odin, and that deity was said to possess two ravens 

 which were let loose every morning to ascertain what 

 was going forward in the world, and returned at night 

 to perch on Odin's shoulders, and whisper their intelli- 

 gence into his ears. Even in the present day the 

 Icelanders believe that the Raven is acquainted not 

 only with what is going on at a distance, but also with 

 what is to happen in the future. The superstitious 

 notions of other nations with regard to the Raven 

 seem all to partake more or less of the Icelandic cast. 

 Nevertheless, in the present day at any rate, the Raven 

 is not unfrequently kept in confinement, when his 

 sagacity, and love of fun and mischief, render him 

 amusing. Of all British birds he is perhaps the one 

 which manifests the greatest power of imitating the 

 human voice, and this is the more striking as his own 



natural note is one of the lea^t attractive in nature. 

 He is also sometimes friendly with other domesticated 

 animals, and has been known to attend upon a wounded 

 dog with great kindness, bringing him bones, and using 

 every endeavour to console the sufferer under his 

 affliction. Strange dogs, however, are generally re- 

 garded by him as enemies, and he is fond of giving 

 them a sly nip with his powerful bill ; one of the 

 favourite amusements with tame Ravens being to con- 

 ceal themselves until a dog passes by, when they rush 

 out and endeavour to pinch his tail. 



The nest of the Raven is built on a forked branch, 

 sticks, and lined with wool and hair ; the 



bird generally selects a very high tree for the reception 

 of its nest, and places it among the most inaccessible 

 branches. The same nest serves, with a little repair, 

 for several successive seasons, and it is remarkable that 

 the same trees are so constantly resorted to b) 7 these 

 birds that many trees have been known as " Raven- 

 trees" from time immemorial. 



THE CARRION CEOW (Corvus Car one}, like the 

 Raven, enjoys a very wide geographical range, being 

 found in all the northern parts of the eastern hemis- 

 phere ; it does not, however, occur in North America, 

 where its place is taken by a closely allied species. 

 The Crow measures rather more than eighteen inches 

 in length, and is of a black colour, glossed with violet 

 and green in certain lights ; the feathers covering the 

 nostrils are shorter than in the Raven, and the irides 

 are brown. In its general habits it resembles the 

 Raven, dwelling and breeding in wooded countries, 

 and feeding both upon carrion and upon small animals, 

 which it captures and tears to pieces like a raptorial 

 bird. To sickly sheep and lambs it is, like the Raven, 

 a dangerous enemy. Its note is a hoarse croak. The 

 Carrion Crow is not so frequently domesticated as the 

 Raven, but when kept in captivity it displays a con- 

 siderable amount of sagacity. Mr. M'Gillivray mentions 

 an example of the accurate memory of one of these 

 birds which had buried a dead mole in his owner's 

 garden, covering it over so cleverly that, although he had 

 been watched through the whole operation, the place 

 of burial of the mole could not be discovered. He was 

 excluded from the garden for nearly a week ; but on 

 getting in he went directly to the spot where the mole 

 was buried, and brought it out immrnediately. 



THE AUSTRALIAN CROW (Corvus coronoidcs), the 

 only known species of true Crow inhabiting Australia, 

 is very nearly allied both to the Raven and the Carrion 

 Crow, between which Mr. Gould regards it as inter- 

 mediate. It measures about twenty inches in length, 

 and is of a shining purplish black, with a greenish gloss 

 on the throat. The iris is white. This bird is met 

 with in every part of Australia and in Van Diemen's 

 Land ; in its general habits and voice it resembles the 

 European Carrion Crow. 



THE HOODED CROW (Corvus Cornix), a third 

 British species of the genus Corvus, appears to have 

 nearly the same geographical distribution as the Car- 

 rion Crow, but is to a certain extent a migratory bird, 

 breeding in the most northern countries of the eastern 

 hemisphere, and only visiting the southern districts in 

 the winter. Thus, even in Britain, the Hooded Crow 



