210 Wild Life in Wales 



One was killed there by a keeper one morning only a few 

 years ago, which, I was informed, " continued to be dead 

 all day, and was stiff when he threw it out of his bag in the 

 evening on arriving home. Late at night, however, he and 

 his wife were awakened by a terrible noise ; and on going to 

 the stable, whence it proceeded, he found the Raven perched 

 on the pony's back beginning to kill it. As the man entered 

 it flew past him, knocking the canwyll f rwyn l from his hand, 

 and disappeared in the darkness ; but they got no more 

 peace in the house that night, until the morning, and the 

 pony was not itself again for many weeks afterwards. It 

 always shook at the sound of a Raven's croak, and in the 

 stable it often whinnied and pawed half the night as though 

 chased by a flock of fears." 



The young Ravens bred here are generally fledged by 

 the beginning of May, not unfrequently some weeks 

 earlier, and where not molested, they remain, or gather to 

 roost, about the nesting site for some months ; after which 

 they begin to congregate with others at some general 

 winter roosting place. Before they leave the rocks where 

 they have been bred, they are often very fearless ; I have 

 sometimes had the whole party circling about me on a 

 mountain top, or passing along the face of the clifF beneath, 

 at a distance of only a few yards. When danger threatens 

 them, however, the young are taken ofF by their parents, to 

 safer quarters, as soon as ever they are able to fly ; and in 

 such circumstances, they seem often to join some other family 

 party without evoking any jealousy, for one sometimes 

 comes on a dozen or more young ones flocking together 

 with no more signs of disagreement amongst them than if 

 they were a lot of Rooks or Daws. Very soon after the 

 winter roosting place has been resorted to, the family parties 

 become broken up ; for, there, it is rare to see the birds 

 except in pairs, and so they continue for the rest of their 

 lives. 



From the above remarks it will be apparent that the 

 writer is not a sharer in the general belief that Ravens 



1 A taper, or rush light, still in common use amongst the hills. See 

 page 229. 



